Napoleonic-era accounts of life aboard Royal Navy warships: “Readers of Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester will enjoy this collection” (Library Journal).
At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the British Navy was the mightiest instrument of war the world had ever known. The Royal Navy patrolled the seas from India to the Caribbean, connecting an empire with footholds in every corner of the earth. Such a massive Navy required the service of more than 100,000 men—from officers to deckhands to surgeons. These are their stories. The inspiration for the bestselling novels by Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester, these memoirs and diaries, edited by Dean King, provide a true portrait of life aboard British warships during one of the most significant eras of world history. Their tellers are officers and ordinary sailors, and their subjects range from barroom brawls to the legendary heroics of Lord Horatio Nelson himself. Though these “iron men on wooden ships” are long gone, their deeds echo through the centuries.
The story of Great Britain was written in seawater, and no period was more important than the two decades under scrutiny in Dean King's Every Man Will Do His Duty. This collection of memoirs, diaries, and accounts written by Royal Navy personnel (both English and American) during the Napoleonic period will be a sure hit with any reader who has devoured the Aubrey-Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian. Every Man Will Do His Duty—the title is, of course, Admiral Lord Nelson's famous admonition to his sailors at Trafalgar—pulses with the vividness, immediacy, and honesty that only primary sources can supply. The book is filled with intriguing details of war as it was practiced on the high seas from 1793 to 1815. Editor King has done an excellent job selecting his sources; in addition to views from the captain's quarters, Every Man Will Do His Duty boasts plenty of material penned by mariners of a much humbler station; their accounts provide the bulk of the book's humor. Fans of the nautical novel will find this book a worthy addition to their library, and so will students of English history.
Napoleonic-era accounts of life aboard Royal Navy warships: “Readers of Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester will enjoy this collection” (Library Journal).
At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the British Navy was the mightiest instrument of war the world had ever known. The Royal Navy patrolled the seas from India to the Caribbean, connecting an empire with footholds in every corner of the earth. Such a massive Navy required the service of more than 100,000 men—from officers to deckhands to surgeons. These are their stories. The inspiration for the bestselling novels by Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester, these memoirs and diaries, edited by Dean King, provide a true portrait of life aboard British warships during one of the most significant eras of world history. Their tellers are officers and ordinary sailors, and their subjects range from barroom brawls to the legendary heroics of Lord Horatio Nelson himself. Though these “iron men on wooden ships” are long gone, their deeds echo through the centuries.