Buy a cheap copy of life in nelsons navy life book by brian lavery. Every aspect of handling a manofwar is detailed and illustrated with superb line drawings by mark myers and the book is designed by geoff hunt. All of nelsons previous battles are in the this book and well covered. He creates a compelling read that is every bit as engaging as the tv series itself. The times labelled the same book a masterpiece on life in the senior service under englands favourite seafaring son. Laverys book is titled wooden warship construction a history in ship models. Seamanship in the age of sail came out in 1984, and is a classic of its type. Contra what we read in naval fiction set during the age of sail, or even what some contemporaneous writers assert, the range of the carronade was not significantly inferior to the long guns it replaced. Patrick o brian found nelson s navy 1989 to be the most nearly regal that i have come across in many years of reading on the subject. Brian lavery is one of the uks leading maritime historians and the. Its a compact little book but full of useful information and terminology for those who read maritime fiction or venture to write about it. The ships, men and organisation 17931815 by brian lavery.
Brian lavery born 18 july 1945, is a british naval historian, author, and curator emeritus at. Brian lavery is the guest curator of the exhibition victory 250 at chatham. This book is the perfect guide to nelsons navy for all those with. Life in nelsons navy was as horrible as you thought a new study of remains from multiple royal navy graveyards has found evidence that the life of the british sailor in mid18th to early19th centuries was as diseaseridden, painful and often brief as youve always thought it was.
Brian lavery is curator of naval history at the national maritime museum, greenwich, u. And then there are the classic research tomes books like brian laverys nelsons navy. With a foreword by patrick obrian, nelsons navy is the definitive reference work on the british navy in the napoleonic era for individuals with an interest in the workings of the greatest fleet of the sailing era. Life in nelsons navy was as horrible as you thought. Nelsons navy goodreads meet your next favorite book. This small, slender 90 pages paperback, with no illustrations and without any scholarly pretensions such as footnotes or even a bibliography, gives a clear, concise account of what royal navy life for. Written by one of the worlds leading authorities on the sailing navy, the book contains considerable original research to give a clear and authentic picture of the british navy as. Brian lavery books list of books by author brian lavery thriftbooks. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. This is not, however, a book for the novicebrian laverys nelsons navy naval institute press, 2000 or even john harlands seamanship naval institute press, 1984 fit that bill nicely.
Returning to an era when technological development moved more slowly, brian laverys beautifully illustrated nelsons navy. This book is the perfect guide to nelsons navy for all those with an. Roy and lesley adkinss many books include trafalgar, which tells the story of the war at sea in napoleonic times, and their latest book jack tar, looking at life in the navy in nelsons era. Filled with over four hundred illustrations, the book is divided into fourteen sections that deal with the design and construction of ships, the. The history of the vessels in which he served, 17711805 stackpole books, 2002 lavery 74 brian laverys the 74gun ship bellona naval institute press, 1985. Unlocking the meaning of lost by david lavery paperback book the fast free. Brian lavery is one of the uks leading maritime historians and the author of such. This small, slender 90 pages paperback, with no illustrations and without any scholarly pretensions such as footnotes or even a bibliography, gives a clear, concise account of what royal navy life for officers and crew was like two centuries ago. Ships, men and organization, 17931815, brian lavery. And here was where our plan to base our new, alternative world on the actual later 18 th century of the actual world quite easily supplied a great deal of useful knowledge. Horatio lord nelson by brian lavery, 9780814751909, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Brian lavery has 62 books on goodreads with 4351 ratings. Numerous books, both technical and historical, have been written about victory, but for an overall picture of the ship and her remarkable story this volume is hard to beat. In doing so, i stumbled across nelsons navy, by brian lavery for which obrian wrote the foreword. Experiments conducted by the admiralty in 18 determined that at pointblank. Notable naval books of 1989 proceedings may 1990 vol. The times labelled the same book a masterpiece on life in the senior service under. There is no royal road to a knowledge of the navy of nelsons time. To be sure, laverys nelsons navy is an excellent reference book that contains far more detailed information than the present work, but jack aubreys commands is written in a more approachable style for the general reader, with a text that is meant to be read as a continuous whole, rather than as a collection of details and essays. Empire of the seas ebook by brian lavery rakuten kobo. With a foreword by one of the most successful maritime fiction authors of the current age, the book is also of interest to all those with enthusiasm for the literature based on the nelsonicera.
Building an age of fighting sail reference library, part 1. Victory over the spanish armada transformed us into a seafar. Empire of the seas by brian lavery 9781472835604 dymocks. Hopefully its clear that nelsons flag was without the red dot maybe i should not have posted the image with the red dot, but its the only one i could find at the time, sorry. Sailors usually had no say in what ship they served aboard. In nelsons navy, brian lavery makes an interesting observation.
He traces the evolution of naval sailing vessels using models accompanied with. There is a photo on page 56 of laverys book of a model of one, which is in the national maritime museum. The ships, men and organisation 17931815 1990 have helped us to understand better the navys role within eighteenth. Short book that offered a very cursory overview of regency navy life. It started by recruiting yachtsmen and giving them a smattering of naval discipline before. This is a great introductory book about the royal navy in the age of sail.
If you want to know more on the technical side of fighting sail, the rigging, the different types of ships, the tactics, the organisation, nelsons navy by brian lavery is the single best volume i have in my collection. Lavery has written an encyclopedic introduction if thats not oxymoronicto life in the british navy during the time of the napoleonic wars. See all books authored by brian lavery, including ship. Duties of the sailing master and masters mate may 3, 2010 the dear knows life and duties, primary sources, the resources, the royal navy 0 william henry smyth richard holmes laurie, a new chart of the mediterranean sea comprehending the coasts from cape st. That story hinges on the naval nutsandbolts napoleon needed to pull off his invasion of england in. This required an intricate system of routine and discipline. Patrick obrian found nelsons navy 1989 to be the most nearly regal that i have come across in many years of reading on the subject. Nelsons navy is divided into fourteen thematic sections which deal with the. Duties of the sailing master and masters mate the dear.
It saved me more than once when i wrote caught by the tides, my regency novella in beyond the dark. The necessities of life reards and pleasures medicine and health discipline. Buy nelsons navy revised edition by brian lavery isbn. For anyone following through any themes in the history of the navy there is a bonus in that the author has tried to follow the layout of brian laverys seminal work nelsons navy in order to compare and contrast the navy in these two significant periods of its history. To find officers for this force it had to move well outside its normal supply of boys trained from the age of. Brian laverys life in nelsons navy is an excellent introductory survey of its subject. This book presents a substantial selection of new material drawn from archives worldwide. Read empire of the seas how the navy forged the modern world by brian lavery available from rakuten kobo. I stumbled across nelsons navy, by brian lavery for which obrian wrote the foreword.
Both are tremendously authoritative works built on impressive research. Just finished reading, brian laverys, life in nelsons navy. So too, roger morrisss the royal dockyards during the revolutionary and napoleonic wars 1983 and brian laverys work nelsons navy. Nelsons biography may not be as detail or indepth as some of the full scale biographies but the coverage proves to be impressive and insightful. The ships, men and organization, 17931815, is virtually encyclopedic and solidly authentic in its coverage of the royal navy during the napoleonic period. Brian laverys nelsons fleet at trafalgar is a detailed and fascinating look at those men and ships and the. Written in brian laverys customary highly readable style, the book is clearly intended as much for the informed mainstream reader as for the true specialist. But willis book is necessary reading for those of us who occasionally write about the world of wooden walls and iron men. Although his complex character often made him enemies and led to mistakes in both his public and private life, he was an unrivaled seaman, an original and brave tactician, and a charismatic leader.
With a foreword by patrick obrian, nelsons navy is the definitive reference work on. My choice for the moment is actual historyfrom brian laverys nelsons navy to the command of the ocean, n. Written by one of the worlds leading authorities on the sailing navy the book contains considerable original research to give a clear and authentic picture of the senior service as a whole. His parents had to find a royal navy captain who was willing to take him on, perhaps a relative or a political or business connection. Patrick obrien provides the forward to this edition of the most successful conway maritime title. Brian laverys book is something that i truly enjoyed reading.
The complete story of the ship made famous in the novels of patrick obrian. The lower deck of the royal navy 18501939 combines a strong overarching narrative with fascinating vignettes illustrating the larger themes he takes us from the process of recruiting down to life on board ship. As we talked, we began to see that, now that we had a very general idea of the beginnings of a bookand, soon, a series we needed to know morelots more. The young horatio nelson was lucky that his uncle, captain maurice suckling, was appointed to a ship when the boy was just the right age. He is a trustee of the royal naval museum and a council member of the navy records society and the society for nautical research. We would add, from a timelife series, henry gruppes the frigates, as well as books like iain dickie et al. Life in nelsons navy the sutton life series by lavery, brian and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book partners well with laverys nelsons navy for any serious student of the period. The ships, men and organisation 17931815 1990 have helped us to understand better the navys role within eighteenth and early nineteenthcentury britain.
They varied between 43 to 51 tons and were numbered but never given names. Lost clues, secrets and theories by david lavery paperback book the fast free. For any student of the world of nelsons navy there should be two essential books on the shelf. Follow brian lavery and explore their bibliography from s brian lavery author page. Horatio lord nelson by brian lavery, john killens, richard. Historic scotland maritime scotland by lavery, brian paperback book the fast. Horatio nelson 17581805 was undoubtedly britains greatest naval leader and perhaps the greatest sea commander of all time. Curator of ship technology, national maritime museum, greenwich. An historical companion to the naval world of patrick obrian lavery, brian, weir, peter isbn.
Patrick obrian wrote the forward to brian laverys insightful look at nelsons navy. Personal accounts of men who were there sometimes stand in sharp. During world war ii, britains royal navy has to expand more than sevenfold, in the faces of the threat of invasion, enemy bombing and the need to carry out campaigns all around the world. He is a leading expert in the career of nelson and the broader royal navy. A fascinating book that covers every aspect of life at sea in nelsons navy, from ship. I have gazed at the ship models on its pages over and over again since receiving it last month from the u. Roy and lesley adkinss top 10 nelson books books the. We trace the lives of stokers, boy artificers and the wrens of the womens royal naval service. What was it really like to be at sea in the navy with nelson.
His previous publications include nelsons navy, the illustrated history of nelson and nelson and the nile. Were that sailors excited about the battle of trafalgar, or suffering scurvey. Life in nelsons navy by brian lavery nook book ebook. Here is the 1804 image from nelsons navy, f centre is viceadmiral of. Rodgers second volume in his naval history of britain. Now, brian lavery, the noted naval historian and author of more than twenty books on the royal navy, and geoff hunt, the president royal society of marine artists and the painter of many of the covers in the aubrey maturin series, have written the frigate surprise. While not as detail as brian laverys book, nelsons navy, the study of the royal navy in this book should satisfied almost anyone. The year 1588 marked a turning point in our national story. Brian laverys narrative explores the navys rise over four centuries. First published in 1990, this encyclopedic yet highly readable work gives an indepth description of the royal navy in lord nelsons time.
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