Stopping Napoleon: War and Intrigue in the Mediterranean - Softcover

Pocock, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909609668 ISBN 13: 9781909609662

Publisher: Thistle Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

After his defeat by Nelson at Trafalgar, Napoleon knew he could never invade England. Many thought he would try to take over the vast, crumbling Ottoman Empire, return to Egypt and even march on India. So the British concentrated on the Mediterranean: for a decade it became the scene of dangers - real or imagined - and of battles - both on land and at sea. All was dictated by a fierce determination to stop Napoleon.

There were triumphs and disasters in remote and exotic places, and a Trafalgar in miniature was fought between frigate squadrons in the Adriatic. The Peninsular War might well have been fought in another peninsula: Italy. Bizarre rulers had to be flattered, or fought: the Bourbons in Palmero and Napoleon's dashing brother-in-law, Marshal Murat, King of Naples. The successors to Nelson and predecessors of Wellington fought there, amongst them Lord Collingwood, Sir Sidney Smith and Sir John Moore. Napoleon himself materialised at his most magnificent in Venice and in humiliating exile on Elba. Of course, Napoleon himself did not see it like that, and the outcome was startling for all...

"Pocock has restored this neglected campaign to its true importance in this lively and important book"
John Crossland, Sunday Times

"Compendiously detailed, expert analysis ... No detail escapes Mr Pocock"
Robert Stewart, The Spectator

"An enthralling read"
Brighton Argus

"This fast-paced, beautifully written account should be read by all aficionados of the age of Nelson and Napoleon."
Andrew Lambert, Times Literary Supplement

About this title

About the Author

Tom Pocock is the author of 18 books (and editor of two more), mostly biographies but including two about his experiences as a newspaper war correspondent. Born in London in 1925 - the son of the novelist and educationist Guy Pocock - he was educated at Westminster School and Cheltenham College, joining the Royal Navy in 1943. He was at sea during the invasion of Normandy and, having suffered from ill-health, returned to civilian life and in 1945 became a war correspondent at the age of 19,the youngest of the Second World War. After four years wth the Hulton Press current affairs magazine group, he moved to the Daily Mail as feature-writer and then Naval Correspondent, becoming Naval Correspondent of The Times in 1952. In 1956, he was a foreign corresponent and special writer for the Daily Express and from 1959 was on the staff of the Evening Standard,as feature writer,Defence Correspondent and war correspondent. For the last decade of his time on the Standard he was Travel Editor. He wrote his first book, NELSON AND HIS WORLD in 1967 on his return from reporting the violence in Aden and his interest in Nelson has continued. Indeed, eight of his books are about the admiral and his contemporaries; his HORATIO NELSON was runner-up for the Whitbread Biography Award of 1987. Tom Pocock has contributed to many magazines and appeared on television documentaries about Nelson and the subject of another of his biographies,the novelist and imperialist Sir Rider Haggard.

Review

'An absorbing account ... This work is far from merely a chronological list of battles won and lost' -- Nautical Magazine 20041001 'An enthralling read' -- Brighton Argus 20040717 'Landscape and architecture are given ... loving attention' -- Spectator 20040717 'Ideal' -- The Times 'summer non-fiction reading round-up' 20040710 'A fine story-telling manner ... a thrilling account of the way the British outflanked Napoleon.' -- Dover Express 20041028 'Another wonderfully eccentric cast ... this fast-paced, beautifully written account should be read by all aficionados of the age of Nelson and Napoleon.' -- Times Literary Supplement 20040723 'A stirring, often humorous yarn ... Pocock has restored this neglected campaign to its true importance in this lively and important book' -- The Sunday Times 20040613 'A historically solid yet highly readable introduction to this largely unknown phase of our history' -- Literary Review 20041001 'Full of vivid descriptions of key battles and the heroes they created... An interesting book on an unusual topic' -- Military Illustrated 20041201 'A detailed narrative, which is well paced and often humorous, makes a lively read.' -- Scan 20050503 'Whether an expert or novice of the Napoleonic Wars, Stopping Napoleon will not disappoint.' -- Scan 20050503 'The author is one of the foremost authorities on the Napoleonic Wars.' -- Dover Express/Folkestone Herald 20050217 'Fills an important gap ... Stopping Napoleon is a good read and is good narrative history' -- The Northern Mariner 20041001 'A detailed, anything-but-dull account of the political manouevres needed to stop Naploeon's ambitions.' -- Manchester Evening News 20050226 'A stirring, often humorous yarn... Pocock... restored this neglected campaign to its true importance in this lively and important book' -- Sunday Times 20040613 'Compendiously detailed, expert analysis ... No detail escapes Mr Pocock' -- The Spectator 20040717 'This fast-paced, beautifully written account should be read by all aficionados of the age of Nelson and Napoleon.' -- Times Literary Supplement 20040723 'An enthralling account of the fighting and intrigue it took to head him [Napoleon] off' -- The Scotsman 20040807 'Astonishing ... Pocock creeps up on the climax of the campaign, unfurling its grandeur with incredible verve' -- Good Book Guide 20040801 'Pockock's boisterous descriptions of these often neglected battles are superb.' - Ian Pindar -- The Guardian 20050305 '!it is not surprising he has established a reputation as an authority on the naval history of this period!he is a first class story teller'. -- The Review - NHCRA 20050301

About this edition

• Publisher: Thistle Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1909609668
• ISBN 13: 9781909609662
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308