James L. Nelson Books in Order – If you read various types of literature and are interested in adding Historical Fiction, Nautical Fiction, and Modern thriller suspense novels to your library, James L Nelson’s books in order will be a good addition to your library. He is an award-winning author of historical maritime fiction and nonfiction.
Who is James L. Nelson?
James L. Nelson is an American historical nautical novelist. He has always harbored a deep love of ships and the sea, though no one else in his family ever did, which leads him to believe that it is a genetic disorder and not learned behavior.
While other boys his age were obsessed with dinosaurs, he could be found reading about whaling, or the Age of Fighting Sail. Growing up he built models of ships, and in 9th Grade built his first real boat, a twelve-foot skipjack, which sailed poorly due to design flaws and Nelson’s inability to sail a boat.
Biography of James L. Nelson
James L. Nelson was born in the year 1962 and raised in Lewiston, Maine. In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts for two years, and then transferred to UCLA, with the ambition of becoming a film director.
After living in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, Nelson found work aboard the Golden Hinde, where he met his future wife Lisa Page. In 1992, Nelson completed his first novel, By Force of Arms. He and Lisa were married the next year.
Nelson currently lives in Harpswell, Maine, with Lisa and their four children, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Jonathan, and Abigail. Nelson continues to write full-time and has published over twenty-five books, both fiction and nonfiction.
In 11th grade, he and his friend Paul McKeown build a strip canoe in Nelson’s mother’s basement, which proved much harder to extract than they had imagined. While in High School, Jim Nelson began working as a disc jockey for Top 40 radio.
That led to a fascination with broadcast and ultimately to college at the University of California, Los Angeles’s School of Motion Picture and Television.
He graduated from UCLA with a degree in motion picture/television production and for several years pursuing a career in the television industry.
​For five years he worked on board traditional sailing ships including the Lady Washington and the replica Revolutionary War frigate “HMS” Rose from Bridgeport, CT, the ship featured in the film Master and Commander ​ (the filming of which was regrettably after Nelson’s time).
In 1992, having turned thirty and realizing it would be easier to write about sailing rather than doing it, he came ashore and began a career as a writer. Jim began his first book, By Force of Arms while serving as the third mate aboard Rose.
After several re-writes, Jim managed to land an agent who sold the book as a series to Pocket Books, thus launching a new career.
Today, James L Nelson is the author of more than 20 works of maritime fiction and history. He currently lives in Harpswell with his former shipmate from the Golden Hinde, now wife, Lisa, and two other children.
James L. Nelson Books In Order of Publication
Let’s have a look at James L. Nelson’s books in order. We will also see James’s books list series-wise.
Publication Order of Isaac Biddlecomb Books
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| By Force of Arms | (1996) | Buy Now |
| The Maddest Idea | (1997) | Buy Now |
| The Continental Risque | (1998) | Buy Now |
| Lords of the Ocean | (1999) | Buy Now |
| All the Brave Fellows | (2000) | Buy Now |
Publication Order of Thomas Marlowe Books
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Guardship | (2000) | Buy Now |
| The Blackbirder | (2001) | Buy Now |
| The Pirate Round | (2002) | Buy Now |
Publication Order of Samuel Bowater Books
Publication Order of The Norsemen Saga Books
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Fin Gall | (2013) | Buy Now |
| Dubh-linn | (2014) | Buy Now |
| The Lord of Vik-lo | (2015) | Buy Now |
| Glendalough Fair | (2015) | Buy Now |
| Night Wolf | (2016) | Buy Now |
| Raider’s Wake | (2017) | Buy Now |
| Loch Garman | (2017) | Buy Now |
| A Vengeful Wind | (2018) | Buy Now |
| Kings and Pawns | (2019) | Buy Now |
Publication Order of Caleb Hayes Books
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Full Fathom Five | (2016) | Buy Now |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The French Prize | (2015) | Buy Now |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Book Title | Year | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Only Life That Mattered | (2001) | Buy Now |
| Reign of Iron | (2004) | Buy Now |
| Benedict Arnold’s Navy | (2006) | Buy Now |
| George Washington’s Secret Navy | (2008) | Buy Now |
| George Washington’s Great Gamble | (2010) | Buy Now |
| With Fire and Sword | (2011) | Buy Now |
Awards of James L. Nelson
- W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from the American Library Association in 2004.
- Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature in 2009.
James L. Nelson Few Top Books Summary
NORSEMEN SAGA
There are a total of 10 books under this series. For nearly a hundred years the Northmen have swept out of the countries of Scandinavia, sailing their fast, lean ships to the shores of England and Ireland, Frisia, Frankia, all of Europe, and the lands to the east that can be reached by sea.
The Norsemen Saga tells the tale of one such band of Vikings, a handful of raiders led by veteran seafarer Thorgrim Night Wolf. Arriving on the shores of Ireland to raid, they are soon swept up in the complex world of shifting alliances, where Irish and Northmen battle one another and themselves for control of that wealthy and fertile island.
REVOLUTION AT SEA SAGA SERIES
The Revolution at Sea Saga, sometimes known as the Isaac Biddlecomb Series, is a series of five novels written by James L. Nelson, and published from 1997 to 2001. It centers around the exploits of protagonist Isaac Biddlecomb during the American Revolution, specifically the years 1775 through 1777.
The Revolution at Sea saga focuses on Isaac Biddlecomb and Ezra Rumstick, former smugglers for Isaac’s surrogate father (and later father-in-law) William Stanton. Throughout the series, Biddlecomb and Rumstick become increasingly involved with the naval aspect of the American Revolution, which brings them into contact with historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
CIVIL WAR AT SEA
Having survived the bloody Battle of New Orleans and the loss of their ironclad Yazoo River, captain Samuel Bowater, engineer Hieronymus Taylor, and the survivors of their crew are given new orders — take command of an ironclad warship being built in Memphis, Tennessee.
Bowater and his men take passage upriver from “Mississippi” Mike Sullivan, one of the wild, undisciplined captains of the River defense Squadron, only to find, on their arrival, that their ship is not even half-built and the enemy is closing fast.
Against their better judgment, Bowater and crew join forces with the mercurial Sullivan on board his ad hoc river gunship General Page. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Confederates once again fling themselves bravely at the overwhelming power of the Yankee invaders. The deadly back-and-forth fight along the Mississippi ends at last in the massive naval battle of Memphis, and the near-suicidal attempt by the Confederates to hold back the Northern flood.
Filled with wild characters and heart-pounding action, and set against the bold backdrop of the Civil War, Thieves of Mercy is a worthy successor to the W. Y. Boyd Award-winning Novel Glory in the Name, the book Bernard Cornwell lauded as “by far, the best Civil War novel I’ve read.”
THE ONLY LIFE THAT MATTERED
Fed up with an outlaw existence, Calico Jack Rackam swears off the pirate life, until he meets Anne Bonny, a woman who would as soon stab a man as to give him a good tumble—that is unless he’s a pirate. Soon Jack finds himself out on the high seas, with Anne by his side and his men spoiling for action.
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S GREAT GAMBLE
In the opening months of 1781, General George Washington feared his army would fail to survive another campaign season. The spring and summer only served to reinforce his despair, but in late summer the changing circumstances of war presented a once-in-a-war opportunity for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his troops with French reinforcements drove Lord Cornwallis’s forces to the Chesapeake.
The Battle of the Capes would prove the only time the French ever fought the Royal Navy to a draw, and for the British army, it was a catastrophe. Cornwallis confidently retreated to Yorktown, expecting to be evacuated by a British fleet that never arrived. In the end, he had no choice but to surrender. Although the war sputtered on another two years, its outcome was never in doubt after Yorktown.
General Washington’s Great Gamble is the story of the greatest naval engagement of the American Revolution. It is also a study of leadership, good and bad, political machinations, and the wild, unpredictable circumstances that led to the extraordinary confluence of military and naval resources at that time and place.
Faq on James L. Nelson
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In which year James L. Nelson was born?
James L. Nelson was born in 1962.
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How many books are there in the Norsemen saga books?
There are 9 books in the Norsemen Saga series. The first book is Fin Gall and the last book of this series is Kings and Pawns.
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Have you read James L Nelson’s books and novels? Leave your comments & thoughts below.
JAMES L. NELSON is my favorite author ~ and that’s saying a lot. Having read most all of his works, I’m relishing the non-fiction list now and oh, my .. exciting and so well-researched! Having read the 11 books of the Norseman’s Saga (4x), the Isaac Biddlecomb series (2x) + the great tome of Isaac and Virginia’s now adult son, Jack (The French Prize), – I find myself wanting to go to the author and say, ‘WHEN WILL THERE BE ANOTHER?’ (No pressure!) A delightful author with a marvelous sense of humor and I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND anything written by JAMES L. NELSON.
Thank you for your lovely feedback