Nelson - The Commander

Widely revered as England’s greatest naval leader, Nelson is considered one of the key figures of Western history – but does he deserve to be?

Known during his lifetime as a flagrant womaniser, and – due to his part in the judicial killing of the Neapolitan Commodore Caracciolo – a potential murderer, Horatio Nelson destroyed ships at anchor at Copenhagen and the Nile. Some historians argue that his sole victory at Trafalgar has overshadowed his many naval failures, and that history has inflated his role. But nonetheless, it cannot be ignored that his majestic victory at the Battle of Trafalgar confirmed Britain’s naval supremacy during the 18th century and saved his country from the invading forces of the French and Spanish.

Did England’s ultimate naval hero truly possess the inner steel and strategic genius to be one of the world’s great captains? Distinguished historian Geoffrey Bennett, himself a veteran of the Royal Navy, provides a full and meticulously researched account of Nelson’s life and career.