Product Description

The Indian Ocean, 1809. At stake: Britain's commercial lifeline to India and naval supremacy. In one fatal season, the natural order of maritime power since Trafalgar was destroyed. "Storm and Conquest" brings together the terrifying ordeal of men, women and children caught at sea in hurricanes, and those who survived to drive the French from the Eastern seas. All shared a need to prove themselves - to make a career, or a fortune, or a marriage - in places which could be at once magnificent and terrifying.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20905 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Jeremy Paxman, Books of the Year, Observer
"For sheer excitement, what most gripped me was Storm and Conquest ... as thrilling as anything by Patrick O'Brian."

Huw Bowen, Guardian
"A triumph... a ripping yarn founded on original research ... popular maritime history at its very best."

Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm
"Taylor has written a ferociously good book ... an incredible tale."

Customer Reviews

Superb story-telling in moving tale of the Sea
It's a bit of a cliche, but 'Storm and Conquest' - an account of shipwrecks and naval warfare in the Indian Ocean at the time of Napoleon - really does read like a novel and a very good novel at that. Stephen Taylor captures the personalities at the heart of dramatic and, often, heart-breaking events and makes you really care about their fates.

He knows his market - there are a number of footnotes about the Patrick O'Brian novels - and, of the two distinct halves, 'Storm' is rather better than 'Conquest,' but - let's be clear - this book is a brilliant whole, linked, mostly, in the horrifying - and captivating - personality of Captain Corbet.

The highest recommendation I can give this work is that I read it pretty at much at one sitting and I have already bought two extra copies to give to friends as Christmas presents, sure in the knowledge I'm getting them something engaging, well-written and compelling.

Gripping Popular History
Storm and Conquest is a popular history book as gripping as many novels. It details the triumphs and tragedies of the East India Company over a couple of years in the early 19th century. The main players in India, South Africa, and sailing the Indian Ocean are brought to life through a fantastic summary based primarily on the letters, notes, analysis, and reports of those who were there.

The British Empire was in the ascendency post-Trafalgar and it was naval prowess that had brought glory to Britain. The navy was far from unrivalled though and the French fleet and the elements still brought many ships down. Taylor's book explores the people who were on board, how they related to each other, and what became of them when disaster struck.

What surprised me the most about this book is that it is first and foremost a description of the people involved. From the politicking over the governorship in India, the bitter recriminations between rivals for honour, and the love, romance, and illicit affairs that sparked, this is a tale of real human beings.

Taylor's analysis of those people is rarely of a fence-sitting variety. The exploits of Captain Corbet for instance are a remarkable read with Taylor firmly backing the sources that show Corbet to have been a monster despite the occasional success he wrought. Corbet's tale on the Nereide is probably the most heartbreaking of all and the cruelty of the life among the Indiamen and HM Navy is brought home vividly.

While the title of this book suggest an equal weight between Storm and Conquest, the former is much more of a presence. This is not really a book of battles and military action, more a tale of survival and intrigue. In the honour-bound society of early 19th century Britain, the aspirtions againt character weigh far more heavily than any physical injury so captains such as Willoughby plough on into extreme danger motivated solely by the chase of glory.

As an exposition of the now easily forgotten people of the East India Company, Storm and Conquest is superb. These people effectively ran an Empire larger than any other in history and to read them revealed so insightfully was a real pleasure.