Captain Alexander Clay and the crew of the Griffin return from India after almost two years away, impatient to see loved ones at home, but fate has other ideas. In the middle of the Atlantic they cross paths with a huge Franco-Spanish fleet on its way to the Caribbean, and find themselves drawn into one of the greatest naval campaigns in history. With the very survival of Britain at stake, Clay will need all his ability to help the Royal Navy win through. Triumph and tragedy await in equal measure as the fleets move towards a titanic clash fought off a rocky cape in southern Spain. Napoleon Bonaparte, having "concluded a secret alliance with Spain," plots to invade England in the summer of 1805—"our year of victory"—with the combined fleets "driving the English navy before them." Captain Alexander Clay and His Majesty's battle-damaged frigate Griffin arrive in southern India escorting John Company's China Fleet across the Bay of Bengal after fending off an attacking French squadron in the Straits of Malacca. At Toulon, young Francois Brissot, resplendent in his crisp new blue uniform, arrives by coach to assume his duties as the third lieutenant aboard the French 74 Redoutable in the Mediterranean Fleet. By mid-summer in 1804, Griffin had departed Madras, beating against a relentless wind toward the Cape of Good Hope and, hopefully, England, when three mysterious men of war appear on the horizon. Clay and the Immortal Memory is another compelling naval thriller from English author Philip Allan, the tenth in his Alexander Clay series, chronicling events in the months leading to the historic Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Allan alternates his narrative, "a blend of fact and fiction," between the foes, using Redoutable , which actually participated in the battle, and Lieutenant Brissot as the channel for describing the French perspective and Griffin and Clay for the British. Real-life characters also play significant roles, from Redoutable 's Capitaine de vaisseau Jean Jacques Étienne Lucas to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. Along with stirring ship-to-ship engagements, Allan slips absorbing vignettes into his story, including one that recounts particular training aboard Redoutable that would have a memorable historical impact on HMS Victory 's quarterdeck months later in the seas off Cape Trafalgar. Clay and the Immortal Memory is historically correct, with a bit of literary license, as the French and Spanish fleets elude British blockades and gather at Martinique in the eastern Caribbean before sailing into history against Nelson's fleet across the Atlantic. And as in Clay's previous adventures, Allan's story intimately encompasses the lives of Griffin 's Jack Tars, with "long pigtails and tattooed arms," naively roaming the streets in India with bulging purses, fashioning a nighttime surprise for the French frigate trailing in their wake, or fighting the ship. Once again, Philip Allan cuts a captivating swath through the Georgian-era Royal Navy with his hero, Captain Alexander Clay. George Jepson in Quarterdeck Magazine Invasion. This single word sums up Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's most ardent wish: to claim England as his own. But the British Royal Navy blockades France's ports and while he has enough barges to carry his troops across the Channel, he lacks enough ships of the line to go up against this irritating foe. During 1804, his shipwrights build new ships as fast as they can. He has also reached a secret accord with Spain that will soon allow him to sufficiently increase his naval forces. What he does not have and what he has no control over are two elements that his admirals deem essential: calm waters and no enemy ships. He is certain, however, that 1805 will resolve these issues and he will have the victory he desires. Francois Brissot is excited to join the crew of the 74-gun Redoubtable at Toulon. He only hopes she will not be relegated to sitting in the harbor as happened to his previous ship because of the British blockade. Once aboard, he finds that many of the men are new to the sea, but he has a way of leading and training them that strikes a jealous chord with the first lieutenant, Camille Dupotet. The rivalry deepens after Redoubtable fails to elude the British patrol blockading the harbor and Francois is the only officer to suggest a creative way that might give them the edge the next time they confront the enemy. Successfully preventing the French from capturing a convoy from China provides Captain Alexander Clay and his men the opportunity to return to England. Monsoon winds are less accommodating, requiring him to venture close to the French base in the Indian Ocean. As a result, the Griffin is doggedly pursued by three enemy ships; an ingenious ruse allows him to escape unnoticed. Once they are in the Atlantic, they happen upon a French fleet and Clay faces a dilemma: pursue this fleet or head to the nearest British base to report the enemy's whereabouts.