Tag: New Zealand

There’s Been a Cover-Up. A Royal Cover-Up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

There were clues.

Evidence of a cover-up.

Involving the Prince of Wales.

And a Roman Catholic widow.

They were secretly married.

Was it legal?

Were there children?

Legitimate children.

Then where were they?

I think I know.

It’s not where you think.

Buy my 236-page book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ here and enjoy the paranormal adventure across 5 countries.

The Pope said, yes.

The British Parliament said, no.

Who was right?

Everywhere I looked the real evidence was not there.

Vital papers had been burned.

Identities were removed.

The true history had not been told.

I knew they were Royalty.

Yes, that was 250 years ago.

In Regency times.

In England.

But, incredibly, involving the very early days of British settlement in New South Wales (Australia) and New Zealand).

Who would know?

Certainly not the official line.

Not recorded history.

But I had the paranormal clues.

And they gave me enough, like the smoke, that is evidence of there being a fire.

In the end, after considerable research, I found enough smoke to show there must have been a fire.

The Prince of Wales had his position – and his head – on the line,

All good reason for the cover-up.

I understand.

Now, 25 years later, someone wants the truth to out.

Which is where my story becomes truly paranormal.

I can’t claim proof.

That’s been cleverly destroyed.

I can claim evidence like the smoke that gives away a fire.

Read my 236 page book and judge for yourself.

You’ll enjoy the fun and entertaining read.

You’ll ponder the spiritual wisdom as the Truth comes out.

In this sense, it’s a mind/body/spirit story (as well as an historical exposure).

With some romance along the way.

Reader’s Digest said, “You have discerned an amazing story.”

“It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster,” they said.

A Royal cover-up which, as you will see, all started with a ghost.

A ghost who appears at Chapter 3 – The Ghost of Granny Fitz’.

Buy the book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ here and enjoy the great read.

Love and peace.

Neil the Smith
My Author Page

How the Paranormal Uncovered a Royal Cover-Up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Everywhere I looked the evidence was not there.

Vital papers had been burned.

Identities were anonymous.

The truth had not been told.

As if they were nobody.

I knew they were Royalty.

Sure, that was 250 years ago.

In Regency times.

In England.

But, incredibly, involving the very early days of British settlement in New South Wales (Australia) and New Zealand).

Who would know?

Certainly not the official line.

Not recorded history.

But I had the paranormal clues.

And they gave me enough, like the smoke, that is evidence of there being a fire.

In the end, after considerable research, I found enough smoke to show there must have been a fire.

The Prince of Wales had his position – and his head – on the line,

All good reason for the cover-up.

I understand.

Now, 25 years later, someone wants the truth to out.

Which is where my story becomes truly paranormal.

I can’t claim proof.

That’s been cleverly destroyed.

I can claim evidence like the smoke that gives away a fire.

Read my 236 page book and judge for yourself.

You’ll enjoy the fun and entertaining read.

You’ll ponder the spiritual wisdom as the Truth comes out.

In this sense, it’s a mind/body/spirit story (as well as an historical exposure).

With some romance along the way.

Reader’s Digest said, “You have discerned an amazing story.”

“It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster,” they said.

A Royal cover-up which, as you will see, all started with a ghost.

A ghost who appears at Chapter 3 – The Ghost of Granny Fitz’.

Buy the book ‘The Great Royal Cover-Up’ here and enjoy the great read.

Love and peace.

Neil the Smith
My Author Page

PS. Illustrated above. an anonymous painting of the ‘Mary Ann’ the only all-female convict to sail from England to New South Wales in 1792 with the Third Fleet.

I’ve written a knockout book to expose a cover-up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment
What was the secret of the ‘Mary Ann’ all-female convict ship in the Third Fleet to Australia?

Only a ghost could have known about it.

Because the truth was covered up and the evidence destroyed.

Then 200 years later a paranormal experience, quite a few in fact, fell into my lap and off I went on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Across 5 countries.

I was in Australia and the cover-up occurred in England.

Involving the Prince of Wales.

And his mistress.

They were married in a secret ceremony.

Officially it never happened.

I’m not so sure.

Back then a liaison between a Protestant and a Catholic was dynamite.

At the time the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots were causing fear amongst the population of London.

This happened in London.

I was in Australia.

The Prince of Wales and a Catholic widow.

That would have been dynamite too.

Officially it never happened.

My paranormal clues said otherwise.

And so, sensing an amazing story, I went for it.

I responded to the clues.

Which led me to Regency England, New Zealand and, yes, right back home to Australia.

I uncovered an amazing story

The writer’s magazine Writer’s Digest called it a “blockbuster”.

And more.

You can read the awesome reviews HERE.

Or buy my blockbuster 230 page book HERE.

It’s a “fun and entertaining” book says another reviewer..

See for yourself.

Love and Peace.

Neil.

Ghost Busts 200 Year-Old Royal Cover-Up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Was granny really a ghost on a mission?

Did she live 200 years ago as a wife of the Prince of Wales?

Was her story desperately covered up in the interests of the politics of the day?

And of saving the Prince of Wales’ head?

Read the full story in my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ (click here).

At a time of serious anti-Catholic sentiment, of the Gordon riots, even the memory of her deceased late husband who died from injuries he suffered in the riots, was the cover-up in the greater interests of the country, the Parliament . . . and the throne?

Has she returned to state her case for justice?

And legal rights and, as she would claim, a legitimate right to her place in history?

Okay, it’s merely conjecture, but read ‘Dr Desailly’s Secret’ and ‘Florence & The Ghost’ and you may wonder about what really happened 200 years ago.

A time when the Prince of Wales and the wife of a secret marriage, were living in dangerous times.

A time when even the fact that the Royal heir might have married a Catholic as well as against the wishes of the King, George III.

In a letter to the Prince of Wales, Whig politician and leader of the opposition Charles James Fox:

“warned that her situation as well as that of the Prince would be perilous if they went through a ceremony of marriage.”

But they did.

And not only that.

At first she refused all suggestion of marriage.

Then she changed her mind.

Could it be that she was having his child?

And was this child legitimate?

In the chapter ‘The Secret Marriage’ I present the evidence that there was a child.

There were rumours on the couple’s two summers in Brighton.

“It is said she is with child,” wrote a Mrs Talbot.

Could this have been the secret reason for their extended holidays in the seaside resort of Brighton?

Was this a good reason for the distraction of the building of the Royal Pavilion there.

The Pope declared the secret marriage valid.

Read my evidence in ‘The Secret Marriage’ in my book of revelations ‘Man Steps Off Planet’.

Writer’s Digest thinks it’s a blockbuster and “an amazing story”.

At the time all of the evidence was destroyed.

This hasn’t stopped speculation as to whether there were children and, more to the point, where are they?

What happened to them.

I very much doubt, however, if anyone found the evidence I have offered in my book.

This was the time of the historic First Fleets to Australia of mostly convicts sent to start a new colony in the antipodes.

Read the full story in my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ (click here).

What a perfect opportunity to disappear an unwanted child and an embarrassment to the Prince of Wales.

I have considered, for example, the fortunate timing of a child with the migration to the end of the earth on one of the First Fleets.

On the same morning that the first ships of the First Fleet sailed for Botany Bay (Australia) on 13 May 1787 carrying 737 convicts, the Prince of Wales was discussing his debts with the Prime Minister, William Pitt.

It’s interesting to note that the Second Fleet two-and-a-half years later carried 22 children and one free person.

It’s impossible to identify who the children were.

This can be found in the chapter ‘The Mystery of the Mary Ann’.

But then we also have three secret messages which point to an interesting man, an unsung hero from that time, with many clues to his identity as a possible child of this Royal couple.

His name is Lieutenant James Simmons.

For a time of great significance to us he was Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson‘.

Read the chapters ‘The Lady Nelson’, ‘The Lieutenant Without a Past’, and ‘The Sailor King’.

With this ship he sailed the waters around south-eastern Australia founding Hobart and Launceston in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).

He developed a close friendship with the colony’s first Chaplain, the Reverend Robert Knopwood.

He fostered friendly relations between the Governor of New South Wales and New Zealand when others before him provoked disaster.

All is revealed in ‘Chief Ti-Pahi & The Maori Episode’.

It’s an interesting read.

One reviewer called it “fun and entertaining”.

I hope you will too.

To order your copy click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neil Walter John Smith started his career as an advertising copywriter working on creative accounts like Volkswagen, Herbert Adams and Clark’s Shoes. He won an award for Adams meat pies commercials in the Best TV Campaign for the year. For 10 years he worked freelance as a one-man creative director for some of Melbourne’s hottest creative shops. He then moved to the country to work as an author of non-fiction books. Today he lives in a small picturesque fishing village across the bay from the city of Melbourne close to his 2 beautiful daughters and 3 adorable granddaughters.

To follow my blog scroll down and click the Follow button.

Illustration by nicobou at Deviantart

Unsung Heroes From Aussie Italian Gold Rush Miners to Sailing Ship Mysteries & a Lost British Prince In Aus.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

It’s the Gold Rush era of California, New Zealand and southern Australia. They came from the Ticino region in the south of Switzerland and the foothills of the Alps in the north of Italy in the 1850s hoping to strike gold. Many sailed out on borrowed money expecting to strike it rich and make their fortunes in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, where I lived for 5 years. Most didn’t.

But hey, were they unsung heroes who left behind a permanent legacy of Italy in the Aussie bush?

There was a ghost. A clue led me back to a fashionable Catholic widow over 200 years ago in Regency England who secretly married the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales. I think it was a legitimate marriage which, if proven by the other clues I uncovered, would have cast serious doubts on events of that time. If there were legitimate children then where are they? Who were they? And how did they change history, if at all?

But hey, was the first born son an unsung hero who was sent secretly to Australia and became the enigmatic Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’?

And there’s more.

Explore.

Illustrated: The tale of the mutiny on the Bounty remains one of the most intriguing stories of adventure on the high seas more than 200 years after the ill fated voyage that made Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian legends. But what of the unsung heroes (like the unknown British sailor without a past who became Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’) who sailed with Bligh on the ‘Bounty’?

Neil.

The Man Who Didn’t Know He Was Prince.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Two hundred years ago the Prince of Wales was in a precarious position. Even his life was in danger. There were reasons. This is my revelation of a legitimate son born from a secret marriage to a Catholic widow. I think they were soul mates but England thought they were trouble.

We have no portraits of him as other famous and even not-so-famous explorers from history do. Has he been a forgotten man, a hero of his time?

Hardly anything is known of him except for his role as Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson’.

Could he have been the hitherto unknown father of a legitimate son of the British King George IV from a time when, as the Prince of Wales, he left one mistress after another and then secretly married the Catholic widow and socialite Maria Fitzherbert?

Would Victoria have become Queen had they known about him?

We may never know but, based on the evidence, we can speculate.

In my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ I have speculated and reached a shocking conclusion.

Read the evidence I’ve uncovered after extensive research and decide for yourself.

Much of the research has been driven by paranormal events all started by a ghost.

In the end it’s all true (not a novel or a work of fiction).

So who was this unsung hero from over 200 years ago?

He was very active in the story of early British settlement of Australia and New Zealand with a population of mainly convicts.

He understood the native Maroi of New Zealand and fostered harmonious relations between Chief Ti-Pahi and Governor King.

He was in the thick of Australia’s only military coup and was chosen to escort Governor William Bligh back to England to be court marshaled.

There are also heartwarming true stories.

Like when one of his crew fell in love with the Chief’s daughter and stayed behind to marry her.

Or the unbelievable tale of William Buckley, a convict who escaped from a failed settlement near Melbourne 30 years before the city was even founded as “the place for a village”.

He lived with the local aborigines as their leader and was met by the party that sailed from Tasmania to found Melbourne in 1830.

On his many voyages he became friendly with the Reverend Robert Knopwood, the first chaplain of Tasmania, and was heavily involved in the dramatic politics of this early penal colony.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

You can read how the mystery unfolded for me and my travels around the world chasing clues and searching for evidence to support the little known events surrounding this intriguing historical saga.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Scroll down to follow my blog for future email posts.

Best wishes,

Neil Smith

To read in your browser click here.

To order your copy of the book from the publisher at 10% off click here.

Illustration: ‘Frog Prince’ by YolandaBlazquez on Deviantart.

The Lost Prince of Oz.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Who was this mysterious man without a past, a British seaman who sailed to New South Wales, as Australia was called then, with the notorious William Bligh of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame?

We have no portraits of him as other famous and even not-so-famous explorers from history do.

Has he been a forgotten man, a hero of his time?

Hardly anything is known of him except for his role as Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson’.

Could he have been the hitherto unknown father of a legitimate son of the British King George IV from a time when, as the Prince of Wales, he left one mistress after another and then secretly married the Catholic widow and socialite Maria Fitzherbert?

Would Victoria have become Queen had they known about him?

We may never know but, based on the evidence, we can speculate.

In my book ‘Back to the Wall’ I have speculated and reached a shocking conclusion.

Read the evidence I’ve uncovered after extensive research and decide for yourself.

Much of the research has been driven by paranormal events all started by a ghost.

In the end it’s all true (not a novel or a work of fiction).

So who was this unsung hero from over 200 years ago?

He was very active in the story of early British settlement of Australia and New Zealand with a population of mainly convicts.

He understood the native Maroi of New Zealand and fostered harmonious relations between Chief Ti-Pahi and Governor King.

He was in the thick of Australia’s only military coup and was chosen to escort Governor William Bligh back to England to be court marshaled.

There are also heartwarming true stories.

Like when one of his crew fell in love with the Chief’s daughter and stayed behind to marry her.

Or the unbelievable tale of William Buckley, a convict who escaped from a failed settlement near Melbourne 30 years before the city was even founded as “the place for a village”.

He lived with the local aborigines as their leader and was met by the party that sailed from Tasmania to found Melbourne in 1830.

On his many voyages he became friendly with the Reverend Robert Knopwood, the first chaplain of Tasmania, and was heavily involved in the dramatic politics of this early penal colony.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

You can read how the mystery unfolded for me and my travels around the world chasing clues and searching for evidence to support the little known events surrounding this intriguing historical saga.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Scroll down to follow my secret blog for future email posts.

Best wishes,

Neil
My Author Website

To read in your browser click here.

To order your copy of the book from the publisher at 10% off click here.

 

 

How A Simple Ancestry Search Ended Up In A British Royal Bedroom 200 Years Ago

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

How did an innocent genealogical project to trace a family tree end up in the bedrooms of the Oxford University some 200 years ago and, shockingly, in the bedrooms of George, Prince of Wales?

Along the way three secret messages emerged, each with three specific clues to a mystery, plus a ghost also with her own secret clue.

At one point the two merged, the genealogical facts and the orally transmitted clues, into previously unknown territory.

The revelations, if true, were astounding.

If I were to draw any conclusion from all of the circumstantial evidence in my book it would be this.

The Acting Commander of the Tall Ship ‘Lady Nelson’, Lieutenant James Simmons, which sailed under his command from 1803, was the legitimate son of George, Prince of Wales.

Legitimate son?

The Prince spent several summers at his Brighton Pavilion (illustrated above) with his soul mate, Mrs Maria Fitzherbert.

Many residents were sure that she was pregnant each year.

And this was following a secret marriage between the couple, which was flatly denied in Parliament by the Prince’s mate and leader of the Whigs, Charles James Fox.

But there are witnesses who swore that the marriage did take place and, furthermore, the Pope ruled it to be a valid marriage.

So what of any children who may have been quietly dispatched on one of the early convict ships that conveniently sailed to the new colony on the other side of the world, Australia, at the time.

And what of other children who probably ended up in organisations for orphaned children or as trainee boys on sailing ships, as I suggest Lieutenant James Simmons may have, to later be given the command of the ‘Lady Nelson’.

Then he and his ship, as is on the record, were responsible for the founding of Hobart and Launceston in Tasmania and for rescuing a failed convict settlement inside the Heads 30 years before the town of Melbourne was settled.

One of the convicts, William Buckley, escaped and lived with the aborigines for the next 30 years and became a local folk hero. It’s an amazing story.

Lieutenant Simmons and the ‘Lady Nelson’ did much to foster early harmonious relations between the Governor of New South Wales (Australia) and the New Zealand Maori.

I invite you to read the amazing untold story of an unsung hero from 200 years ago, all but forgotten in the history books, who deserves a more prominent place in history.

And much more.

“You have discerned an amazing story,” says Writer’s Digest. “It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster.”

It’s a true story full of twists and turns.

Grab your copy and read it for yourself here.

Best Wishes.

Neil.

A Ghost. A Ship. A Mystery. A True Story.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

The ghost was a granny who was not what she seemed.

The ship was the ‘Lady Nelson’, one of the Tall Ships whose replica is currently sailing the Seven Seas.

The mystery fell into my lap when my life had crashed and burned and I set out to follow the clues left to me and solve the mystery.

But did I?

It’s a true story that throws light onto a possible legitimate son of King George IV some 200 years ago.

Was the Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’ him?

That is the question I set out to discover.

Is it him?

If so, and if he was really the legitimate son of George IV, then was he destined for the throne of England instead of Queen Victoria had his identity been known?

The secret of granny’s ghost was a single but significant clue and it has been hidden for 100 years.

It was there for all to see, and to miss.

Only when 3 other clues came to light for the first time did this central clue make sense.

What’s more incredible is that these 3 clues were held by 3 different people who knew nothing of the other 2 clues.

Indeed they had no idea it was a clue to anything.

Then all was revealed when granny’s secret was discovered at her grave in a Melbourne cemetery.

She had died 17 years before she was very much alive being a granny.

Either you’re dead or alive, not both.

Not Granny Fitz.

She was both at the same time.

In saying that I’ve given you her significant big clue.

I reveal all in my book and invite you to share my adventure with me as the mystery unfolds as I chase the clues, and find more, across 5 countries.

New York.

Regency England.

New Zealand.

Northern Italy.

And of course, my home country, Australia.

Best wishes,

Neil
aussiescribe

Order Book Here.

Follow Blog Here.

Who was the secret legitimate heir sent to the antipodes 200 years ago?

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

 

Portrait of  Mrs Maria Fitzherbert (1756-1837), secret wife of George IV (1762-1803)

Was this forgotten man, Acting Commander of the Tall Ship ‘Lady Nelson’  from 1803, a secret legitimate royal heir to the British throne?

I have found convincing evidence that he was.

I’ve written an account of how the evidence unfolded for me, day by exciting day, a story full of unexpected discoveries and endless twists and turns, in my book ‘Back to the Wall’.

When my back was to the wall.

Being an ex advertising copywriter this was a story I simply couldn’t ignore.

Okay, what’s this “amazing story” I have discerned (according to Writer’s Digest*)?

Clues left by secret messages – and a ghost – led me to the ‘Lady Nelson’, one of the sailing ships that arrived in Australia soon after the Third Fleet comprising 11 ships that sailed from England to Australia in 1791 to start a penal settlement on the other side of the world.

And significantly to an enigmatic Commander who, at just 24, took over in an emergency.

Was Lieutenant James Simmons (or Symons)  the legitimate heir sent to the antipodes and out of the way?

Was a secret marriage between the Prince of Wales, King George IV, and a Catholic widow, Maria Fitzherbert,  legal?

The Pope said it was!

Join me as I share every moment of my fun and entertaining romantic world adventure chasing the clues that led me to uncover surprising revelations from my historical research in Australia, Regency England and New Zealand.

It’s an unexpected adventure across five countries and you can share my emotions and the events that emerged as I followed my instincts – always with nothing.

I was broke, bankrupt.

My back was to the wall.

Read my story of survival together with the fun and the drama as I describe every moment as it unfolded.

It’s a blast.

To order your copy now CLICK HERE or from Amazon CLICK HERE.

Best wishes,

Neil

PS. If you found this post interesting scroll down or up to the top of the sidebar and click the FOLLOW button to receive future posts in your email.

* “You have discerned an amazing story. It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster: romance, history, the paranormal and the story of a narrator finding his way in the world. Big stories like this are difficult to tell.
The writer has to sift the really important facts from those that don’t keep the story moving. Keeping the reader oriented – and engaged – in a story with twists and turns like this is no small feat either.” – Judge, Writer’s Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards

You Never Know What You’ll Find In A Ship’s Log

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

The Lady Nelson (1799)

When you’re a storyteller, you often find all kinds of fabulous human interest stories in sources like a ship’s log previously overlooked by official historians looking for only the bare facts. 

As I learned when I researched the original log books of the ‘Lady Nelson’.

“The logbooks of the Lady Nelson bear witness to the leading part played by one small British ship in the discovery of a great continent,” says author Ida Lee in the introduction to her book which preserves the ship’s original log books. “They show how closely, from the date of her first coming to Sydney in 1800 until her capture by pirates off the island of Baba in 1825, this little brig was identified with the colonisation and development of Australia.”

-Capture by pirates?

-The violent end to ‘The Lady Nelson’ and the discovery of her charred remains.

-The heartwarming story of a crew member falling in love with a New Zealand Maori Chief’s daughter, separated by a well-meaning ship’s captain and their eventual happy reunion.

-Confrontation with the hostile Maori Chief Ti-Pahi.

-Building of the first house to be constructed in New Zealand by the crew of ‘The Lady Nelson’.

-The rescue of an early settlement that failed to find the site where Melbourne was founded 30 years later.

-A vivid account of losses overboard during wild seas where, in 1998, six lives were lost from rather more sophisticated craft in the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

-A tense stand-off with the Spanish ship ‘Estramina’ and her subsequent surrender.

-How I uncovered an unsung hero from the days of sailing ships and adventures on the High seas who, at just 24 or 25, took command of ‘The Lady Nelson’.

-The part played by the ship in Australia’s only military coup involving William Bligh of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’  fame – another mutiny if you like.

These are just a few of the many dramatic stories I found in the logs books of the tiny brig HMS ‘Lady Nelson’.

They are only a small part of my bigger story, as Writer’s Digest said, “You have discerned an amazing story” and “the readers will truly love this material.”

This is an easy to read, hard to put down non-fiction book that reads like fiction. Order your copy now and read for yourself these amazing stories within a bigger even more amazing story.

If you enjoy reading real short stories in a bigger true mystery CLICK HERE (publisher) or CLICK HERE (Amazon)

Happy reading

Neil

Reference: ‘The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson’ by Ida Lee, published by Grafton & Co, London, 1915.

 

A book of true stories that’s not a book of true stories

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

How many books have you read that could claim to fit no less than 10 of Amazon’s 33 book categories?

This one can.

It’s really one big fun true mystery adventure story that contains many smaller stories about real people.

But essentially it’s one big story, as Writer’s Digest* said, “You have discerned an amazing story.”

There’s the story of an unsung hero, a British naval lieutenant who played a major role in the early British settlement of southern Australia and New Zealand, the story of Australia’s only military coup, the heartwarming story of a British sailor who fell in love with a New Zealand Maori Chief’s daughter, the story of my own survival after bankruptcy, my own romantic story living for 6 months in New York with a beautiful school teacher, the discovery that a granny was really a ghost with a message, the story of a ‘Wild White Man’ who lived for 30 years with an aboriginal tribe as their Chief (illustrated above), my story of living with an Italian nurse for 4 months in romantic Italy, and many more.

Again, Writer’s Digest* claimed, “It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster, romance, history, the paranormal, and the story of a narrator finding his way in the world. Big stories like this are difficult to tell.”

So ‘Back to the Wall’ is one big important true story while, at the same time, it’s many small cameos of real people living extraordinary personal stories.

In the end it’s a true mystery with a big ending.

To read more visit the Home Page of this website or go to my Author Page to order your copy right now.

Best wishes.

Neil

* Judge, Writer’s Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards.

PS. Order your copy HERE.

Read about the sequel to the Mutiny on the Bounty – Australia’s only military coup.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

 

You may have heard of the Mutiny on the Bounty lead by Fletcher Christian against Captain William Bligh.

And you may have even seen one of the numerous movies made of the event.

But have you heard of a later mutiny against Governor William Bligh, the very same, many years later?

In this case he had been appointed the sixth Governor of the new British colony of New South Wales, later to be called Australia, on the recommendation of Captain Cook’s botanist, Sir Joseph Banks.

Instead, since this happened on land and not at sea this time, it was a military coup, Australia’s only military coup.

He was escorted back to England to be court marshaled by the unsung hero of my story, Lieutenant James Simmons, Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’.

As I reveal in ‘Back to the Wall’, Simmons was imprisoned at Cape of Good Hope and the papers incriminating Bligh taken from him.

The official documents were never seen again and Bligh got off with a rap over the knuckles.

Instead of receiving a court marshal he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral.

The thrilling adventures of Lieutenant James Simmons and his ship, on and off the High Seas, makes fascinating reading.

My research into this little known man takes me from Regency England to the early convict settlement of Australia and the New Zealand maori.

In the end I discover the secret of his past and possible royal connections.

It’s a fun and entertaining page-turning read.

And that is at the heart of the mystery I’m chasing throughout the book.

To read more go to my book page HERE.

For amazing reviews of the book CLICK HERE

To order direct from the publisher with a 10% discount CLICK HERE.

To read my author’s story CLICK HERE.

Best wishes.

Neil
My Author Page