Death's Bright Angel

1666. A great fire consumes London. A greater terror threatens England. In September 1666, one word was on everyone’s lips. Fire. But not all attention was on the blaze that destroyed London. Just three weeks earlier, British ships had obliterated the Dutch town of Westerschelling and set 150 merchant vessels ablaze. In an atmosphere thick with rumour, many thought the Great Fire of London was caused by Britain's enemies, perhaps in revenge for Westerschelling. Perhaps they were right. In the weeks before London's burning, Sir Matthew Quinton, master of H.M.S. Sceptre, is recalled to a city seething with foreign plots and paranoia, and given a dangerous mission by the King. A secret quartet of terrorists is planning to destroy the capital, stir rebellion, open the way for invasion. Only Quinton can stop them. Weaving together historical fact and fast-paced action, Death's Bright Angel is a gripping historical thriller with incendiary revelations about the Great Fire. Praise for J D Davies ‘Exciting, emotive and utterly convincing, the Quinton Journals lead the field in naval historical fiction” – Sam Willis , TV presenter and bestselling author of The Glorious First of June “Finely shaded characters, excellent plotting, gut-clenching action and immaculate attention to period naval detail…these are superb books” – Angus Donald , author of The Outlaw Chronicles “A splendid addition to nautical adventure, and a grand story, to boot!” — Dewey Lambdin, author of the Alan Lewrie series. “J D Davies’s depiction of Restoration England and the British navy is impeccable, his characters truly live and breathe, and the plot kept me in suspense. I could not recommend it more” — Edward Chupack Born in Wales in 1957, J D Davies was educated at Llanelli Grammar School and Jesus College, Oxford, where he completed a doctorate in 17th century naval history. He taught History for thirty years, chiefly at Bedford Modern School, where he also served as a Deputy Headmaster. He won the Samuel Pepys prize in 2009 for his book, Pepys's Navy: Ships, Men and Warfare 1649-89, and is also a previous winner of the Julian Corbett prize for naval history. His acclaimed series of naval historical fiction, The Journals of Matthew Quinton , has been published in the UK, North America and Germany. David is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a former Chairman of the Naval Dockyards Society and Vice-President of the Society for Nautical Research.