Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain - Hardcover

Taylor, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393071642 ISBN 13: 9780393071641

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012

Synopsis

An incomparable seaman, ferociously combative yet chivalrous, Edward Pellew might have served as the model for Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey.

Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary Indefatigable, was quite simply the greatest British frigate captain in the age of sail. Left fatherless at age eight, with a penniless mother and five siblings, Pellew fought his way from the very bottom of the navy to fleet command. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet he had a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, and he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command, when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States and free thousands of European slaves. Opinion held this to be an impossible mission, and Pellew himself, leading from the front in the style of his contemporary Nelson, did not expect to survive.

Pellew’s humanity, fondness for subordinates, and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging figure. Stephen Taylor gives him at last the biography he deserves. 10 color plates, 3 black-and-white illustrations

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Taylor, a former journalist working at The Times in London, is the author of Storm and Conquest and Commander. He lives in Windsor, England.

Review

“Meticulous archival research vividly presents a real-life hero whose deeds provided material for C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey.”
- Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0393071642
• ISBN 13: 9780393071641
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368