Phillip Horatio Hazard starts the series as a First Lieutenant aboard the frigate HMS Trojan, and the name tells you what kind of character V.A. Stuart had in mind — Horatio, after Nelson and Hornblower. He is a career naval officer in the mid-Victorian Royal Navy, and the eight novels follow his promotions and commands through two wars.
The Crimean War fills the first six books. Hazard sails to the Black Sea, takes part in naval operations off Sebastopol, brings reinforcements from Constantinople, and fights in Circassia. When the war ends, the series shifts east. Guns to the Far East sends him to China and the Second Opium War, where he fights at Fatsham Creek, and Escape from Hell puts him in the middle of the Indian Mutiny and the relief of Lucknow.
Stuart wrote the series between 1965 and 1976. She had served as a captain in the Australian Women’s Auxiliary Service during World War II, and her military background shows in the detailed naval action. Several books were published under alternate titles for UK and US markets.
Reading Order
See the complete Phillip Hazard reading order for all books in the series.