A historical novel that tells the story of Septimus Quinn as he becomes a midshipman in the British Navy at age 15, and describes his involvement in the Napoleonic War.

Fifteen-year old Septimus Quinn is not your everyday hero. In this collection of four complete novels, the reader will follow the small, spectacled, but very determined midshipman on a series of exciting adventures that take him from England to the Mediterranean, from the Battle of Trafalgar to espionage in Republican France. Author Showell Styles based his books of sea-battles and events on actual eye-witness accounts taken from the logbooks of english frigates, making his stories not only exciting but historically authentic as well. Includes Midshipman Quinn, Quinn of the Fury, Midshipman Quinn and Denise the Spy and Quinn at Trafalgar.

Britain's challenge to mighty Napoleon, who has taken over Europe and now seeks to subdue Spain, provides the background for the two complete books in this volume. In The Flying Ensign, a small British army under Sir John Moore, in the winter of 1808, makes an audacious strike through the rugged mountains of Leon. Into this factual historical scenario, enthralling in itself, author Showell Styles places the captivating fictional character of Ensign Peter Byrd. Joined by various and colorful companions, Ensign Byrd, a youthful mountaineer from Cumberland on his first military campaign with the Fighting 95th, proves his mettle as an innovative thinker and leader. The next summer in Byrd of the 95th, an urgent plea from Anita, a Spanish damsel-patriot, and her father catapult Byrd once again into action and trouble. Issues of crucial military importance as well as questions of personal honor center on the nearly impregnable fortress, "El Cuchillo," where they reveal developing strength of character, awakening love, and all-round resourcefulness.

Taking up where the author's book Of Modern Dragons (2007) left off, these essays continue Lennard's investigation of the praxis of serial reading and the best genre fiction of recent decades, including work by Bill James, Walter Mosley, Lois Mcmaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le Guin. There are groundbreaking studies of contemporary paranormal romance, and of Hornblower's transition to space, while the final essay deals with the phenomenon and explosive growth of fanfiction, and with the increasingly empowered status of the reader in a digital world. There is an extensive bibliography of genre and critical work, with eight illustrations and many hyperlinks.