Nelsonian Reminiscences. Leaves From Memory's Log. A Dramatic Eye-Witness Account of the War at Sea 1795-1810

Paperback. Tiny pen dot to edge. Introduction by Michael Nash. These remarkable memoirs of a naval lieutenant who served during the Napoleonic wars were first published in 1843; and wehat makes them so unusual is the combination of a particularly eventful career with a powerful nattative style equal to the great events he witnessed. The historical interest centres on his association with Nelson, especially the much-criticised years at the corrupt court of Naples where Parsons, an acute and independent observer, sheds fascinating light on many of the protagonists; writing at a time when Lady Hamilton's reputation was it its nadir, Parsons reveals how the Divine Emma captivated the officers (or at least the junior officers) of the whole fleet. Of the great events he writes with verve, and his description of the capture of the Genereux is as good as anything in sea fiction. There is also nor shortage of humerous observations - Sir Sidney Smith lived on a diet of rats while aboard Parson's ship. For anyone whose interest in the period has been whetted by the fiction of Patrick O'Brian, this is the real-life equivalent. 188 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions etc.).…