Nelson and His Captains

As a keen student of the life and career of Admiral Nelson, I have read a considerable amount of material on him, but this book stands out as one of the most interesting and readable of them all.

The facts of Nelson's life have been covered extensively in many works, and he still manages to cause controversy even now. Military and naval history is not particularly 'trendy' in academic historical circles at the moment, but this period continues to exert a fascination on the popular mind, as the continued success of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, and the naval novels of C. S. Forrester and Patrick O'Brian demonstrate.

What Ludovic Kennedy's book does, and which marks it out as outstanding in the genre, is that it shifts the focus slightly away from Nelson himself to his 'Band of Brothers' (a much earlier one than Stephen Ambrose's current success story!), the loyal group of captains who served under and with him. It follows Nelson's career through the lives of those captains in famous battles and blockade duty from the Mediterranean to the Channel to the Baltic.

Kennedy tells this story in a fast-paced and readable way, while remaining scholarly throughout. There are stirring descriptions of ship-to-ship combat, mixed with anecdotes about the interlinked lives and romantic rivalries of a group of remarkable young and not so young men who came under the influence of one of the most dynamic and talented naval commanders of that, or indeed any, age.

In short I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to any student or fan of Nelson, the age of sail or late 18th-early 19th Century naval history, as well as anyone who has ever enjoyed the adventures of Hornblower, Bolitho or Aubrey.

Ludovic Kennedy

Reader Reviews:

Excellent overview of the men who aided Nelson (18/18 people found this helpful)

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