J. E. Macdonnell Explained

J. E. Macdonnell
Pseudonym:	James Edmond Macdonnell, James Macdonnell, J.E.M., Jim Macdonnell, J. Macdonnell, Macnell, James Macnell, James Dark, Kerry Mitchell, Michael Owen.
Birth Name:	James Edmond Macdonnell
Birth Date:	1917 11, df=yes
Birth Place:	Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Death Place:	Buderim, Queensland, Australia
Nationality:	Australian
Period:	1942–1989
Genre:	Fiction
Spouse:	Valerie (1956–2002)
Children:	3

James Edmond Macdonnell (3 November 1917 – 16 September 2002) was an Australian novelist. The covers of his novels declare him "Australia's leading novelist of the Navy" and "Australia's greatest novelist of the sea".^[1]

Biography

James Edmond Macdonnell was born in 1917 in Mackay, Queensland and became one of Australia's most prolific writers of paperback novels. As a boy, he became determined to go to sea and read every seafaring book he could find. At age 13, while his family was still asleep, he took his brother's bike and rode some 80 miles from his home town to Brisbane in an attempt to see ships and the sea. Fortunately, he was found and returned to his family. He attended the Toowoomba Grammar School from 1931 to 1932. He served in the Royal Australian Navy for fourteen years, joining at age 17, advancing through all lower deck ranks and reaching the rank of commissioned gunnery officer. He began writing books while still in active service. The publicity biography on the back cover of Command! (1959) states that "he began with novels in 1942".^[2]

Macdonnell wrote stories for The Bulletin under the pseudonym "Macnell" and from 1948 to 1956 he was a member of The Bulletin staff. His first book, Fleet Destroyer – a collection of stories about life on the small ships – was published by The Book Depot, Melbourne, in 1945. Macdonnell began writing full-time for Horwitz in 1956, writing an average of a dozen books a year.^[2]

After leaving the navy, Macdonnell lived in St. Ives, Sydney and pursued his writing career. In 1988, he retired to Buderim on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He died peacefully in his sleep at a Buderim hospital in 2002. He is survived by his wife Valerie and his children Beth, Jane and Peter.

The radio play Wings Off the Sea was based on one of his stories.

The Bulletin

Macdonnell's work for The Bulletin, using the pseudonym Macnell, includes the following:

Articles for The Bulletin

Title	Edition	Date	Page(s)
Neptune's Feet of Clay	Vol.70 no.3640	16 November 1949	22–23
A Shepherd at Sea	Vol.70 no.3646	28 December 1949	4, 20
Standby to Ram!	Vol.71 no.3696	13 December 1950	34–35, 42
The Insubordination of P.O. Brady (from Gimme the Boats)	Vol.71 no.3661	12 April 1950	4, 20–21
'Old Guns' : His Strange Disease	Vol.71 no.3669	7 June 1950	20, 22
A Lesson for Two (from Gimme the Boats)	Vol.71 no.3683	13 September 1950	21–22
International Incident	Vol.72 no.3715	25 April 1951	20, 22, 24, 32
The Chook Gets Hers	Vol.72 no.3747	5 December 1951	27, 39
Borrowed Braid	Vol.72 no.3748	12 December 1951	32–33, 36
Target Unidentified	Vol.73 no.3762	19 March 1952	16–17
The Drum	Vol.73 no.3764	2 April 1952	4, 14–15
Destroyer Operation (from Gimme the Boats)	Vol.73 no.3773	4 June 1952	4, 14–15
Submarining Off Sydney	Vol.73 no.3790	1 October 1952	4
Pity Requited 1952	Vol.73 no.3797	19 November 1952	20, 22
Untitled	Vol.74 no.3812	4 March 1953
Open Sights	Vol.74 no.3817	8 April 1953	20
What You Learn in the Navy	Vol.82 no.4232	22 March 1961	16

Publishers

• The Book Depot
• Ace Books
• Constable & Co. Ltd.
• Continental Printing Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Corgi Books
• Dent (London)
• Flammarion (France)
• Horwitz Publications
• Signet Books
• The Children's Press

Works

J. E. Macdonnell wrote over 200 novels, in at least 7 different series under several versions of his own name and several pseudonyms:

• J. E. Macdonnell
• James Edmond Macdonnell
• James Macdonnell
• J.E.M.
• Jim Macdonnell
• J. Macdonnell
• James Macnell
• James Dark
• Kerry Mitchell
• Michael Owen.

James Dark was a Horwitz house pseudonym shared by several authors. Some believe that he may have written as James Workman, another Horwitz house pseudonym, as well.^[3] Macdonnell's work has been published in at least nine different languages.

Characters

Macdonnell's naval stories feature several recurring characters:

• Captain "Dutchy" Holland, D.S.O.
• Captain Peter Bentley, V.C.
• Captain Bruce Sainsbury, V.C.
• Jim Brady.
• XO Lieutenant Commander Robert Randall

Several books follow Jim Brady through the ranks from Able Seaman to Captain.

Recurring characters in other series include Commander Carton, a "tough, enterprising skipper"^[4] in the Crime Series, Mark Hood, an international spy, in the International Espionage series and Captain Mettle, V.C. in the three juvenile novels.

Series

Since J. E. Macdonnell wrote so many books, many of which were released numerous times in different guises, in different collections and in various countries, it is difficult to identify every published series but some can be clearly identified:

• J. E. Macdonnell Series.
• The Horwitz Australian Library.
• The Horwitz Sea Adventure Library or Horwitz Naval Series.
• The Classics Series.
• The Collector's Series.
• The Juvenile Books.
• The Medical Series.
• The Commander Carton Crime Series by Horwitz.
• The International Espionage Series.

The Collector's Series, and the Classics Series both comprise 141 books, with 2 differences between them other than the title sequence. The Collector's Series does not contain the book The Captain and the classic series does not contain the book Don't Gimme The Ships. Both of these series comprise books from the original Sea Adventure Series.

The Juvenile Books

Macdonnell wrote three juvenile works about the character Captain Mettle using the pseudonym James Macnell. They were published by Constable and The Children's Press.He wrote another entitled Colt and Co in the Valley of Gold as J. Macdonnell, which was published by Dent in 1960. This book was described in the wrapper notes as "the first of a new series" but no further titles were forthcoming.

Mettle at Woomera was re-released in paperback as Weapon Raid by Horwitz in 1979, using the name J. E. Macdonnell.

The Juvenile Books

Title	Year
Captain Mettle, V.C.	1955
Mettle Dives Deep	1956
Mettle at Woomera	1957
Colt and Co in the Valley of Gold	1960
Weapon Raid	1979

The Commander Carton Crime Series

Commander Carton is a retired R.N. captain who finds himself fighting crime.

The Crime Series

Title	Year
Commander Carton	1960
Alias Carton	1961

The Horwitz Naval Series

Published as J. E. Macdonnell.

The Horwitz Naval Series

No.	Title	Year		No.	Title	Year		No.	Title	Year		No.	Title	Year
1	Standby to Ram	1957		38	Broadsides!	1962		75	Hell Ship	1966		112	Circle of Fire	1970
2	Target Unidentified	1957		39	Battle Line	1962		76	The Convert	1966		113	For Valour	1971
3	Battle Ensign	1958		40	The Long Haul	1962		77	Wall of Fire	1966		114	Torrent of Fire	1971
4	Enemy in Sight	1959		41	Away Boarders	1962		78	The Unforgiving Sea	1967		115	Guns for God	1971
5	Command	1959		42	The First Lieutenant	1962		79	Down the Throat	1967		116	Damn the Torpedoes	1971
6	Alarm–EBoats!	1958		43	UBoat	1962		80	Combat Assignment	1967		117	First Command	1971
7	The Weak Link	1959		44	Flotilla Leader	1962		81	The Snake Boats	1967		118	Standing into Danger	1971
8	Presumed Sunk	1958		45	Sea Surgeon	1962		82	The Misfit	1967		119	Torpedo Junction	1971
9	Mutiny	1958		46	Abandon Ship!	1963		83	Behemoth	1967		120	The Worst Enemy	1971
10	Coffin Island	1958		47	Conflict	1963		84	Dit Spinner	1967		121	North West by North	1971
11	Frogman!	1958		48	Repel Boarders	1963		85	The Power and the Privilege	1968		122	Chain of Violence	1972
12	Killer Ship	1958		49	Not Under Command	1963		86	Rat Island	1968		123	Close Up	1972
13	Night Encounter	1958		50	Fire One!	1963		87	Petty Officer Brady	1968		124	False Colours	1972
14	Bilgewater	1958		51	Abandon and Destroy	1963		88	Valiant Mission	1968		125	The Brave Men	1972
15	The Secret Weapon	1959		52	The Buffer	1963		89	Full Fathom Five	1968		126	Point Blank	1972
16	Target Battleship	1959		53	Decision	1963		90	Approved to Scrap	1968		127	Most Immediate	1972
17	Dive! Dive	Dive!	1959		54	The Gun	1963		91	Attack and be Damned	1968		128	This Ship is Mine	1972
18	The Surgeon	1959		55	The Pawn	1964		92	Mission Hopeless	1968		129	The Trap	1972
19	The Gunner	1959		56	Sabotage	1964		93	Judas Rat	1968		130	The Verge of Hell	1972
20	The Captain	1960		57	The Betrayal	1964		94	High Command	1968		131	Blind into Doom	1972
21	Brood of the Eagle	1960		58	Collision Course	1964		95	HunterKiller	1968		132	Fire Storm	1973
22	The Recommend	1960		59	The Big Wind	1964		96	White Fury	1968		133	The Iron Claw	1973
23	The Coxswain	1960		60	Killer Group	1964		97	The Hammer of God	1968		134	Attack!	1973
24	The Challenge	1960		61	The Mistake	1964		98	Headlong into Hell	1968		135	A Council of Captains	1974
25	Convoy	1960		62	Course to Intercept	1964		99	Decoyed	1968		136	The Kill	1974
26	Find And Destroy	1960		63	Creeping Attack	1964		100	To the Death	1969		137	Court Martial	1975
27	Escort Ship	1960		64	The Jaws of Hell	1965		101	Execute!	1969		138	Operational Immediate	1975
28	Don't Gimme the Ships	1960		65	Close and Investigate	1965		102	Strike Force	1969		139	The Dark of the Night	1975
29	The Blind Eye	1961		66	Under Sealed Orders	1965		103	The Big Hunt	1969		140	Liberty Men	1976
30	Eagles Over Taranto	1961		67	Flashpoint	1965		104	Operation Jackal	1969		141	The Battle for Midway	1976
31	Fleet Destroyer	1961		68	White Death	1965		105	And the Heavens Spoke	1969		142	Big Bill the Bastard	1976
32	The Rocky	1961		69	The Deserter	1965		106	Not Wanted on Voyage	1970		143	Confirmed in Command	1976
33	The Lesson	1961		70	The Duel	1965		107	The Last Stand	1970		144	Standoff	1977
34	Clear for Action	1961		71	Whispering Death	1965		108	Object Destruction	1970		145	The Shadow	1977
35	Battle Fire	1961		72	Point of Departure	1966		109	Battle Hymn	1970		146	Death of a Destroyer	1977
36	The Ordeal	1961		73	Loom of Ice	1966		110	Died Fighting	1970		147	Valiant Occasions	1960
37	Sainsbury V.C.	1962		74	Foul Ground	1966		111	Fog Blind	1970

The Classics Series

The classics series is a re-release of most titles from the Horwitz Naval Series. The covers were mainly coloured silver and as a result this series is also known as the silver series.

The Classics Series

No.	Title		No.	Title		No.	Title		No.	Title
1	Stand By To Ram		37	U-Boat		73	Wall of Fire		109	For Valour
2	Target Unidentified		38	Battle Fire		74	The Unforgiving Sea		110	Torrent of Fire
3	Battle Ensign		39	The Ordeal		75	Down The Throat		111	Guns For God
4	Enemy in Sight		40	Sainsbury, V.C.		76	Combat Assignment		112	Damn The Torpedoes!
5	Command		41	Broadsides!		77	The Misfit		113	Torpedo Junction
6	Alarm-E-Boats!		42	Flotilla Leader		78	The Snake Boats		114	First Command
7	The Weak Link		43	Abandon Ship		79	Attack And Be Damned		115	Standing into Danger
8	Presumed Sunk		44	Conflict		80	Behemoth		116	The Worst Enemy
9	Mutiny		45	Repel Boarders		81	Dit Spinner		117	Northwest By North
10	Coffin Island		46	Not Under Command		82	Approved To Scrap		118	Chain of Violence
11	Frogman		47	Fire One!		83	The Power & The Privilege		119	Close Up
12	Killer Ship		48	The Buffer		84	Rat Island		120	False Colours
13	Night Encounter		49	Decision		85	Petty Officer Brady		121	The Brave Men
14	The Secret Weapon		50	Abandon And Destroy		86	Valiant Mission		122	Point Blank
15	Target Battleship		51	The Pawn		87	Full Fathom Five		123	Most Immediate
16	Dive! Dive	Dive!		52	The Gun		88	Mission Hopeless		124	This Ship Is Mine
17	The Surgeon		53	Sabotage!		89	Judas Rat		125	The Trap
18	The Gunner		54	Collision Course		90	High Command		126	The Verge of Hell
19	The Captain		55	The Big Wind		91	Hunter-Killer		127	Blind into Doom
20	Brood of the Eagle		56	Killer Group		92	White Fury		128	Fire Storm
21	The Recommend		57	The Mistake		93	The Hammer of God		129	The Iron Claw
22	The Coxswain		58	Course To Intercept		94	Headlong into Hell		130	Attack!
23	The Challenge		59	Creeping Attack		95	Decoyed		131	A Council of Captains
24	Convoy		60	The Jaws of Hell		96	To The Death		132	The Kill
25	Find And Destroy		61	Close And Investigate		97	Execute!		133	Court Martial
26	The Blind Eye		62	Flashpoint		98	Strike Force		134	Big Bill The Bastard
27	Eagles Over Taranto		63	White Death		99	The Big Hunt		135	Confirmed in Command
28	Escort Ship		64	The Deserter		100	Operation Jackal		136	Operational Immediate
29	Fleet Destroyer		65	The Duel		101	And The Heavens Spoke		137	The Dark of the Night
30	The Rocky		66	Whispering Death		102	Not Wanted on Voyage		138	Liberty Men
31	The Lesson		67	Point of Departure		103	The Last Stand		139	The Shadow
32	Clear For Action		68	Loom of Ice		104	Object: Destruction		140	Standoff
33	Battle Line		69	Foul Ground		105	Battle Hymn		141	Death of a Destroyer
34	The Long Haul		70	Under Sealed Orders		106	Fog Blind
35	Away Boarders!		71	Hell Ship		107	Died Fighting
36	The First Lieutenant		72	The Convert		108	Circle of Fire

The Collector's Series

The collector's series is another re-release of most titles from the Horwitz Naval Series. The covers were mainly coloured gold and as a result this series is also known as the gold series.

The Collector's Series

No.	Title		No.	Title		No.	Title		No.	Title
1	Stand By To Ram		37	Battle Fire		73	Under Sealed Orders		109	Guns For God
2	Target Unidentified		38	The Ordeal		74	Hell Ship		110	Damn The Torpedoes
3	Battle Ensign		39	Sainsbury, V.C.		75	The Convert		111	Torpedo Junction
4	Enemy in Sight		40	Flotilla Leader		76	Petty Officer Brady		112	First Command!
5	Command		41	Abandon Ship		77	Valiant Mission		113	Standing into Danger
6	Alarm-E-Boats!		42	Conflict		78	Down The Throat		114	The Worst Enemy
7	The Weak Link		43	Repel Boarders		79	Mission Hopeless		115	Northwest By North
8	Presumed Sunk		44	Not Under Command		80	Combat Assignment		116	Chain of Violence
9	Mutiny		45	Fire One!		81	Judas Rat		117	Close Up
10	Target Battleship		46	The Buffer		82	High Command		118	False Colours
11	Dive! Dive	Dive!		47	Decision		83	Approved To Scrap		119	The Brave Men
12	Coffin Island		48	Abandon And Destroy		84	Attack And Be Damned		120	Point Blank
13	Frogman		49	The Pawn		85	The Snake Boats		121	Most Immediate
14	Killer Ship		50	The Gun		86	Hunter-Killer		122	This Ship Is Mine
15	Night Encounter		51	Sabotage!		87	White Fury		123	The Trap
16	The Secret Weapon		52	Collision Course		88	Dit Spinner		124	The Verge of Hell
17	Brood of the Eagle		53	The Big Wind		89	The Hammer of God		125	Blind into Doom
18	The Surgeon		54	Killer Group		90	The Power & the Privilege		126	Fire Storm
19	The Gunner		55	The Mistake		91	Headlong into Hell		127	The Iron Claw
20	The Recommend		56	Course To Intercept		92	Full Fathom Five		128	Attack!
21	The Coxswain		57	Creeping Attack		93	Not Wanted on Voyage		129	A Council of Captains
22	The Challenge		58	The Jaws of Hell		94	To The Death		130	The Kill
23	Convoy		59	Close And Investigate		95	The Last Stand		131	Court Martial
24	Find And Destroy		60	Flashpoint		96	Execute!		132	Operational Immediate
25	The Blind Eye		61	White Death		97	Object Destruction		133	Big Bill The Bastard
26	Eagles Over Taranto		62	The Deserter		98	Strike Force		134	Confirmed in Command
27	Escort Ship		63	The Misfit		99	Battle Hymn		135	The Dark of the Night
28	Fleet Destroyer		64	The Duel		100	The Big Hunt		136	Liberty Men
29	The Rocky		65	Whispering Death		101	Fog Blind		137	The Shadow
30	The Lesson		66	Point of Departure		102	Operation Jackal		138	Standoff
31	Battle Line		67	Loom of Ice		103	Died Fighting		139	Death of a Destroyer
32	The Long Haul		68	Behemoth		104	And The Heavens Spoke		140	Wall of Fire
33	Away Boarders!		69	Foul Ground		105	Circle of Fire		141	Don't Gimme The Ships
34	The First Lieutenant		70	The Unforgiving Sea		106	Decoyed
35	U-Boat		71	Rat Island		107	For Valour
36	Clear For Action		72	Broadsides!		108	Torrent of Fire

The International Espionage Series

This series was first published in America by Signet under the pseudonym James Dark. It was later published in Australia by Horwitz Publications as J. E. Macdonnell and some titles were changed. Additional titles were used for some non-English language versions, as well. The year shown reflects the original American year of publication. Australian titles are shown only where they differ.

The International Espionage Series

No.	American Title	Year	Australian Title
JD1	Come Die With Me	1965
JD2	The Bamboo Bomb	1965
JD3	Hong Kong Incident	1966	Assignment: Hong Kong
JD4	Assignment Tokyo	1966	Operation MissSat
JD5	Spy from the Deep	1966
JD6	Operation Scuba	1967	Caribbean Striker
JD7	Throne of Satan	1967	Black Napoleon
JD8	The Sword of Genghis Khan	1967
JD9	Spying Blind	1968
JD10	Operation Octopus	1968
JD11	Operation Ice Cap	1969
JD12	The Invisibles^[5]	1969
JD13	Sea Scrape	1970	The Reluctant Assassin

The Medical Series

This series was published by Horwitz Publications under the name J. E. Macdonnell. At least some titles were published as part of the J. E. Macdonnell Series, along with other Macdonnell titles. They were also released as a separate series numbered MS1 – MS12. At least two titles were published under the pseudonym Kerry Mitchell. Macdonnell may have written other medical romance novels released by Horwitz under the name Kerry Mitchell, as well.^[2] The back cover of one edition says of Macdonnell, in part, "...In researching for this series of medical novels, he has witnessed more than fifty major surgical operations – and only fainted once...!^[6] "

The Medical Series

No.	Title	Year
MS1	A Pair of Hands	1960
MS2	The Scalpel	1961
MS3	Flight 425	1961
MS4	The Doctor's Challenge	1961
MS5	Outback Emergency	1962
MS6	Doctor on Approval	1962
MS7	Wrong Diagnosis	1962
MS8	Doctor Defiant	1962
MS9	Sea Surgeon	1963
MS10	The Doctor's Experiment	1963
MS11	Doctor on Test	1963
MS12	The Doctor's Mistake	1967

Notes

1. Web site: J. E. Macdonnell . 2023-09-16 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
2. "news2.pdf, Greg Ray" http://www.warrigalpress.com.au/news2.pdf
3. "James Edmond Macdonnell, James MacNell and 'Mettle'", http://www.collectingbooksandmagazines.com/mettle.html
4. Macdonnell, J. E.: "Alias Carton", back cover. Horwitz Publications, 1961
5. The Australian series numbers both this book and The Reluctant Assassin as JD13. JD12 is omitted. This appears to be a printing error.
6. Macdonnell, J. E.: Doctor on Test, back cover. Horwitz Publications, 1963

2. Commander Brady, Published by Constable 1956, Reprinted 1956, Corgi Books 1957, Re-issued 1971. Although this book is credited with J.E. Macdonnell as writer. The style of writing does not seem to be his.