Product Description

Lord Nelson's brilliant naval strategy and unparalleled command gave Britain total supremacy at sea and made him a national hero. Much of his success, however, was also due to the "Band of Brothers" under his command; the most loyal and dedicated officers that the Royal Navy had ever seen. They included Troubridge, that "dear good soul"; Hardy, with whom Nelson was always in accord; Berry, his "right hand"; Fremantle, his staunch supporter; and Hood, gentle and unaffected. Despite their different backgrounds and outlooks, they were united in their devotion to Nelson. Ludovic Kennedy skilfully interweaves the stories of these captains with that of Nelson himself to give a fast-moving and comprehensive picture of a vital decade in naval history. Alongside a vivid and scholarly account of the great battles, he provides a candid and intimate portrait of Nelson, and of his developing intrigue with Lady Hamilton and its repercussions on his relations with his captains.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #826544 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author
Sir Ludovic Kennedy was born in Edinburgh in 1919. His father, Captain E C Kennedy, died heroically in command of HMS Rawlpindi, and he himself served in the Royal Navy throughout the war, mainly in destroyers., taking part in the pursuit of the Bismarck. He enjoyed a long career as a campaigning television joumalist, and his book 10, Rillington Place, helped change British law. He is married to the actress and dancer Moira Shearer. He was knighted in 1994.

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview of the men who aided Nelson
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.