Nelson The Commander

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Nelson's triumphs have so caught the popular imagination that his failures are barely remembered. His only victorious battle at sea was Trafalgar (at Copenhagen and the Nile he destroyed ships at anchor), while his infatuation with Emma Hamilton, his role in the judicial murder of the Neapolitan Commodore, Caracciolo, and his flagrant disobedience of orders brought him disgrace and dishonour. Yet this was the man who, in an age when the Royal Navy thrived on 'rum, sodomy and the lash', turned his captains into a 'Band of Brothers' and whose death brought tears to the eyes of the toughest sailor.

Did England's naval hero have the star quality which marks the world's truly great captains? In answering this question, Geoffrey Bennett provides a full and meticulously researched account of Nelson's life and career.