Julian Stockwin MBE (born 1944 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) is an author of historical action-adventure fiction. As well as the Kydd Series he has written two standalone novels ''The Silk Tree'' and ''The Powder of Death''.

Biography

Born in 1944, Stockwin soon developed a love for the sea, having an uncle, Tom Clay, who was a seaman in square-rigged ships and had sailed around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

in the ''

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...

''. After grammar school, his father sent him to sea-training school at '' Indefatigable'' at age 14. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

at 15 and transferred to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

when his family emigrated. Stockwin served eight years, and was eventually rated petty officer. Stockwin attended the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...

to read Far Eastern studies and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

. He did post-graduate work in

cross-cultural psychology Cross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions. Through expanding research methodologies to recognize cultural variance i ...

. He got involved in the manufacture and design of computers and software development. Returning to the navy and the

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

, Stockwin was honoured with an MBE. and retired as

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1990 and started to write in 1996. He currently resides in

Ivybridge Ivybridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Andy Hughes’ new house in Ivybridge now he’s forgotten Ugborough. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a N ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

Works

Thomas Kydd series

Other historical fiction

*''The Silk Tree'' (2014) A fictional account of the bringing silkworm eggs to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

from China. *''The Powder of Death'' (2016) A fictional account of how

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

came to England and its use in cannons.

Non-fiction works

*''Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany'' (2009)

Footnotes

External links

Julian Stockwin's Official Web Site

Julian Stockwin on Twitter

Interview with Julian Stockwin

Julian Stockwin's Facebook Page

Interview with Julian Stockwin (2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockwin, Julian 1944 births Living people 21st-century British novelists British historical novelists Nautical historical novelists People from Basingstoke People from Ivybridge British male novelists 21st-century British male writers