The Life of Nelson

First published in 1813, this biography follows Horatio Nelson from a Norfolk childhood and early service in the navy through the Nile, Copenhagen, and the long blockade that ends at Trafalgar. Southey recounts patronage, wounds, the Italian years with the Hamiltons, and the discipline and signalling by which Nelson handled a fleet. The narrative stays close to ships, orders, and the admiral's letters. The book is a single life of a commander, not a general history of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars at sea.

Bound in dark blue buckram blocked with a gilt pattern. Variant binding where the gilt central panel is omitted. Dark blue or grey slipcase.