The Terror Before Trafalgar : Nelson, Napoleon and the Secret War - Softcover

Pocock, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0719562929 ISBN 13: 9780719562921

Publisher: John Murray, 2003

Synopsis

Nelson's victory at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 was a pivotal event in European history. But Trafalgar was not simply an isolated battle fought and won in an afternoon - the naval campaign had in fact begun more than four years before. This extraordinary period, following Napoleon's threat to invade England in 1801, came to be known as The Great Terror, and Britain was on the alert. As the Grande Armee faced a Dad's army of English volunteers across the Channel, a secret war of espionage and subversion was fought in the shadows. New weapons - rockets, submarines and torpedoes - were developed. Drawing on diaries, letters and newspapers, Tom Pocock paints a vivid picture of the years from 1801 to 1805, and of people caught up in these events: Nelson himself as he blockaded the French at sea for two unbroken years, his love Emma Hamilton waiting at home, Jane Austen and her naval brothers, the diarist Fanny Burney, the admirals, generals and politicians, as well as the lesser-known men such as Fulton, Congreve, Moreau and Pichegru who waged the secret war on either side of the Channel.

About this title

About the Author:

Tom Pocock has been described as the foremost authority on Nelson. He is the author of eight books about the admiral and his time and 'Horatio Nelson' was runner-up for the Whitbread Biography Award. During many years in Fleet Street, he was also Naval Correspondent of 'The Times' and Defence Correspondent of the London 'Evening Standard'. He lives in London and Norfolk.

From Booklist:

Pocock, who has eight books on Lord Nelson to his credit, offers a gripping account of the four years leading up to one of the pivotal events of European history: the Battle of Trafalgar, the last great battle of sailing warships. Napoleon, ever intent on conquering anything in his path, planned to cross the English Channel and march into London. At the outset of this book, little hope is held that the British could stop him. But Pocock presents a cast of figures who created insurmountable roadblocks in Napoleon's way, including Nelson himself, who blockaded the French at sea for two years, all the while pining for his mistress, Emma Hamilton. Pocock painstakingly relates these events through diaries, letters, and newspaper articles, culminating in the great sea battle at Trafalgar that finally rid England of the fear of French invasion, while sadly taking the life of its greatest sea commander. This is a fine addition to the literature on this era. Allen Weakland
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: John Murray
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0719562929
• ISBN 13: 9780719562921
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272