37 Novels set on ships

Amy's Eyes is a children's fantasy novel by Richard Kennedy, published by Harper & Row in 1985, and illustrated by Richard Egielski.

Badge of Glory is a nautical historical novel by Douglas Reeman. It forms the initial part of the multi-volume Blackwood saga. which follows the adventures of several generations of Royal Marine officers over 150 years.

Billy Budd, Sailor is a novella by American writer Herman Melville left unfinished at Melville's death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickly took its place as a classic second only to Moby-Dick among Melville's works. Budd is a "handsome sailor" who strikes and inadvertently kills his false accuser, Master-at-arms John Claggart. The ship's Captain, Edward Vere, recognizes the innocence of Budd's intent but the law of mutiny requires him to sentence Billy to be hanged.

Bloody Jack, fully titled Bloody Jack: Being An Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship's Boy is a historical novel by L.A. Meyer. It is centered on an orphaned girl in London in the early 19th century. The story is continued in Curse of the Blue Tattoo, Under the Jolly Roger, In the Belly of the Bloodhound, Mississippi Jack, My Bonny Light Horseman, Rapture of the Deep, The Wake of the Lorelei Lee, The Mark of the Golden Dragon, Viva Jacquelina!, Boston Jacky, and Wild Rover No More.

Captain Jan is a 1940 novel by Dutch writer Jan de Hartog. The book depicts highly skilled tugboat sailors as modern successors to the bold navigators of the Dutch Golden Age. It was made into a Dutch TV series in 1976.

The Caribbean Cruise Caper is the 154th book of The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories by Franklin W. Dixon, published in 1999.

Cat O'Nine Tails is the fourth book in the "Cat Royal" series written by Julia Golding. In this story the protagonist, Cat, dances at a ball, dresses as a boy, and meets an Indian tribe.

The Cat's Table is a novel by Canadian author Michael Ondaatje first published in 2011. It was a shortlisted nominee for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Corby Flood is a children's book written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell, published in 2005. It won the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Silver Award.

The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. It contains seven chapters, each describing a year during the war.

Dragons in the Waters (ISBN 0-374-31868-9) is a 1976 young adult murder mystery by Madeleine L'Engle, the second title to feature her character Polly O'Keefe. Its protagonist is thirteen-year-old Simon Bolivar Quentin Phair Renier, an impoverished orphan from an aristocratic Southern family. The title comes from Psalm 74:13.

A Fine Night for Dying is a 1969 novel by Jack Higgins originally published under the pseudonym Martin J Fallon. Set on the high seas, it is a new adventure for super-spy Paul Chavasse.

Five Passengers from Lisbon is a romantic-suspense murder mystery written by Mignon G. Eberhart. The plot is a closed community mystery set aboard a hospital ship. The novel was published in the United States by Random House in 1946. The story was originally published in January 1946 as the serial “Murder Haunts the Ship” in Collier's magazine.

Governor Ramage R.N. is an historical novel by Dudley Pope, set during the French Revolutionary Wars. It is the fourth of the Ramage novels, following on from Ramage and the Freebooters.

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane is the second book in Suzanne Collins's children's novel series The Underland Chronicles. Published in 2004, the novel contains elements of high fantasy. The novel focuses on a prophecy mentioned at the end of Gregor the Overlander which the Underlanders believe requires the protagonist Gregor to hunt down and kill an evil white rat known as the "Bane". It is told in third person.

A High Wind in Jamaica is a 1929 novel by the Welsh writer Richard Hughes, which was made into a film of the same name in 1965. The book was initially titled The Innocent Voyage and published by Harper & Brothers in the spring of that year. Several months later Hughes renamed his novel in time for its British publication, and Harper followed suit. The original title retained some currency, as evidenced by Paul Osborn's 1943 stage adaptation. There have since been two radio adaptations, with the title A High Wind in Jamaica.

In Search of the Castaways is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Édouard Riou. In 1876, it was republished by George Routledge & Sons as a three volume set titled A Voyage Round The World. The three volumes were subtitled South America, Australia, and New Zealand. As often with Verne, English translations have appeared under different names; another edition has the overall title Captain Grant's Children and has two volumes subtitled The Mysterious Document and Among the Cannibals.

The Kip Brothers is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne, one of his Voyages extraordinaires. Karl and Pieter Kip are rescued after being castaways on an island in the South Seas. They help to put down a mutiny on the brig but are then accused of murdering the captain.

Love Me Sailor is a 1945 novel from Australian author Robert Close.

The Master Mariner, Book 1: Running Proud

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as a "Great American Novel" was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous.

Mr. Midshipman Easy is an 1836 novel by Frederick Marryat, a retired captain in the Royal Navy. The novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars, in which Marryat himself served with distinction.

Murder on the Leviathan is the third novel in the Erast Fandorin historical detective series by Boris Akunin, although it was the second book in the series to be translated into English. Its subtitle is герметический детектив. Akunin conceived of the Fandorin series as a summary of all the genres of detective fiction, with each novel representing a different genre. Leviathan is his nod to Agatha Christie's style, with an exotic setting, a cast of unusual characters who each have secrets of their own, and a strange murder to start the action.

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus. Various adventures and misadventures befall Pym, including shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibalism, before he is saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continue their adventures farther south. Docking on land, they encounter hostile black-skinned natives before escaping back to the ocean. The novel ends abruptly as Pym and Peters continue toward the South Pole.

The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Forecastle is an 1897 novella by Joseph Conrad. Because of its superb quality compared to earlier works, some critics have described it as marking the start of Conrad's major or middle period; others have placed it as the best work of his early period.

Peter Duck is the third book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows and Amazons sail to Crab Island with Captain Flint and Peter Duck, an old sailor, to recover buried treasure. During the voyage the Wildcat is chased by another vessel, the Viper, whose piratical crew are also intending to recover the treasure.

The Phantom Freighter is Volume 26 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap.

Ramage (1965) is the first novel in the Lord Ramage novels by Dudley Pope. It is set during the French Revolutionary Wars and later in the series during the Napoleonic wars.

Ramage and the Drumbeat, also published as Drumbeat is an historical novel by Dudley Pope, set during 1796 and 1797 amongst the naval warfare of the French Revolutionary Wars. It is the second of the Ramage novels, following on from Ramage. During the book, Ramage becomes an integral part of ensuring British readiness for the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797).

Ramage and the Freebooters, is an historical novel by Dudley Pope, set during the French Revolutionary Wars. It is the third of the Ramage novels, following on from Ramage and the Drumbeat.

Richard Bolitho, Midshipman is a novel in the Bolitho series of nautical fiction set in the late-18th-century Royal Navy, written by Douglas Reeman under the pseudonym Alexander Kent. The book was published in 1975. It was the eighth novel in the series, though it is set earlier than the others, at the start of the career of Richard Bolitho.

Sea Change is a realistic children's adventure novel by Richard Armstrong, first published by Dent in 1948 with line drawings by Michel Leszczynski and promoted as "A novel for boys". Set on a contemporary cargo ship, it features a sixteen-year-old apprentice in the British Merchant Navy who has completed one year at sea, of four years required. He is working towards his second mate's ticket, but has mixed feelings about the life.

Singing in the Shrouds is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twentieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1959. The plot concerns a serial killer who is on a transatlantic voyage to South Africa.

This Thing of Darkness was the debut novel of Harry Thompson, published in 2005 only months before his death in November of that year at the age of 45. Set in the period from 1828 to 1865, it is a historical novel telling the fictionalised biography of Robert FitzRoy, who was given command of HMS Beagle halfway through her first voyage. He subsequently captained her during the vessel’s famous second voyage, on which Charles Darwin travelled as his companion. The novel was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Its title comes from Prospero's line "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine" in Act V, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Treasure Hunters is a children's adventure novel written by James Patterson with Chris Grabenstein and Mark Shulman. It is the first book in the Treasure Hunters series. It was published in 2013.

Typhoon is a short novel by Joseph Conrad, begun in 1899 and serialized in Pall Mall Magazine in January–March 1902. Its first book publication was in New York by Putnam in 1902; it was also published in Britain in Typhoon and Other Stories by Heinemann in 1903.

White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War is the fifth book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1850. The book is based on the author's fourteen months' service in the United States Navy, aboard the frigate USS Neversink.