Book Reviews

In Short

It covers the Battle of Trafalgar, what led up to it, and what happened right after.

What I Like

You learn a lot about the tactics of naval battles during that period. You also gain an insight into the etiquette and mindset of those fighting, whereas the main objective is to capture ships by damaging them enough to force the enemy to surrender. These ships were valued extremely high and pretty much ensured a nice retirement for the captain.

There are also some pretty amazing anecdotes in the novel.

I also learned a bit about sailing, mainly in regards to positioning ships through tacking and wearing. I really had no clue how ships could sail INTO the wind. Therefore, the only bad wind is simply no wind at all.

It’s quite informative into how advanced the British had become in terms of naval warfare. And despite being outnumbered, they never seemed to worry about the enemy fleet. We also see how much England idolized Nelson as an admiral. It’s easy to see why there’s a very tall statue of him lording over Trafalgar Square.

Throughout the years of visiting London and reading novels, I’ve seen Nelson's name appear from time to time. Gaining more knowledge into this legend is interesting and rewarding. I ended up visiting the famous ship called the “Victory” (aptly named) back in 2002 during a short stay in Portsmouth, England. But with all this newfound knowledge, I know that I simply must return once again and explore the vessel that led the English through the epic battle known as the “Battle of Trafalgar.”