Brothers in Arms is a collection of my short stories. With one exception, all of these stories were previously published on this website, Writing with Labradors and are still freely available here. Each of the nine stories explores a different aspect of the long years of the Napoleonic wars.
In 1797 a young boy is illegally pressed into the Royal Navy with unexpected results in The Pressed Man.
In 1810, on the banks of the River Coa, Ensign Evan Powell has his first experience of battle in An Unnecessary Affray.
Three stories set in 1815 explore both French and English views of the Battle of Waterloo in A Perfect Waltz, The Day After and The Christmas After.
And, in a brand new story only available in this book, we return to India in 1803 and learn why Paul van Daan really hates storming a citadel in Brothers in Arms.
The perfect companion to the Peninsular War Saga and the Manxman series, this is the first time that any of my short stories have been published as a collection.
The story behind this collection
I never had any intention of putting any of my free short stories up for sale on Amazon, but the idea of this collection came directly from readers. Since I started to include a short story at the end of each of the books, more and more people have discovered and enjoyed them and I’ve had an increasing number of requests to publish them in the form of a book.
I’ve always been a bit nervous of doing that because I was worried that people would see the book, think it was a new novel and pay good money for something they’ve already read for free. At the same time, I realise that not everybody is likely to go in search of their favourite authors’ website and that some people were missing out.
My editor, Heather Paisley finally convinced me to do this, mostly by agreeing to take on the work of setting up and formatting the collections, with a new original story included to make it worth the money. I’ve kept the price as low as possible and hope my readers will think it’s worth it.
Brothers in Arms, the title story, tells the story of Paul van Daan, still a very young lieutenant, at the storming of Ahmednaggur in 1803. You’ll meet a lot of familiar characters in this story but I’ve made sure that there is no essential plot device in there so it doesn’t make any difference to your reading experience if you don’t choose to buy the book.
I haven’t managed to visit Ahmednaggur so the pictures I’m sharing are all from Wikimedia commons and are easy to find there if you remember to look under the modern spelling of the name, which is Ahmednagar. The spelling of place names incidentally is one of the bugbears of being a historical novelist. Most of them have at least half a dozen different spellings over the years. I’ve known Wellington to spell the same place in three different ways in the same letter.
The fort has a long history. It was originally built in 1553 by Husain Nizam Shah and was captured by the Mughal empire in 1600 although sold back to the local Peshwa in 1759. The rulers of Scindia took it over in 1797.
This short story is set during the Maratha wars, before the events at the Battle of Assaye which are recounted in An Unconventional Officer. General Arthur Wellesley captured the fort on his way to his victory at Assaye. Afterwards the fort passed back and forth between British and local rulers for a number of years. It was used as a prison during the 1940s and several Indian political figures were interned there, including the future prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
This photograph of a bastion and part of the wall gives you an idea of what Wellesley’s army faced back in 1803. In the end, they weren’t required to make a full assault on the fort itself. Instead they stormed the Pettah the associated walled town which was heavily fortified and defended. After that fell the Maratha forces withdrew from the fort.
These days the fort is a ruin and although it’s open to visitors, reviews suggest that it is poorly maintained which is a shame given its rich history. I’d love to go if I ever find myself in India. After all, it’s the place where Paul van Daan discovers that he really hates storming a citadel.
The next published collection of short stories is called Winter Quarters and will be published in December 2025. Once again it will consist of previously published free short stories with the exception of the title story which is new and exclusive to the book.
Also before the end of 2025 book ten of the Peninsular War Saga should be hitting the shelves. It’s called An Inexorable Invasion and is set in the winter of 1813-14 during the Battles of the Nive and the Battle of Orthez.
Watch out for further announcements.
