A vivid and visceral portrayal of the most famous naval battle in history, focusing on the human cost of war, by a brilliant military historian

'A gripping read, full of fascinating insights ... deeply moving ... Brilliant' Adam Zamoyski

'A striking success' The Times

'Fresh, original and brilliantly vivid' Telegraph

At about 1.15 in the afternoon of 21 October 1805, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was struck by a 15-millimetre French musket round fired from of the Redoutable, a distance of some 70 feet to HMS Victory's quarter deck. It fractured his left shoulder, pierced his lung and emerged to sever the spine.

In this fresh and vibrant retelling of the battle of Trafalgar, Paul O'Keeffe traces the course of events both prior and subsequent to that fatal shot: from 6.30 in the morning, as the British ships began their approach towards the enemy fleet, until the cessation of firing that followed the apocalyptic destruction of the French 74-gun Achille at 5.45 in the afternoon.

We also learn about the battle's dramatic aftermath: how a violent storm destroyed the surviving French and Spanish ships; how news of victory travelled and was celebrated in London; how Nelson's body was brought home and given a spectacular funeral.

Paying meticulous attention to little explored details, O'Keeffe gives us a front-row view of events. Gripping and immersive, this is a unique account of Trafalgar for a new generation of readers.

'If you think you know it all about the battle of Trafalgar, think again. Paul O'Keeffe's new book is full of fascinating information ... His book is a must' Nicholas Best, author of Trafalgar

About the Author
Paul O'Keeffe is a lecturer and writer based in Liverpool. His acclaimed books include Waterloo: The Aftermath and, Culloden: Battle & Aftermath, described by the Daily Mail as 'As vivid as the Ten O'Clock News... fascinating, detailed, meticulously researched... tremendous'.

Reviews
Gives the reader a front-row seat at both the battle and its aftermath ... Brilliantly original ... O'Keeffe excels at peripheral detail [and] the battle unfolds in glorious technicolour ... By deploying a wide variety of first-hand sources from archives, contemporary accounts and newspapers, O'Keeffe has pulled off the unlikely trick of making this familiar story seem fresh and original. Acutely sensitive to human suffering, he has produced a brilliantly vivid account of the harsh reality of naval warfare that was, as Nelson's fate attests, no respecter of rank * Telegraph *
Vivid ... Give[s] an intense impression of just how hellish Trafalgar ... must have been, an impression rendered all the more powerful by O'Keeffe's precise, carefully restrained prose ... O'Keeffe's aim is ... to bring alive, using newspaper reports, journals and other eyewitness testimony, how the battle felt to those who were there, and thereafter celebrated, mourned and memorialised it. He achieves this with striking success * The Times *
O'Keeffe's gripping history deals with the life and death of Admiral Horatio Nelson - and the mournful aftermath * Independent *
A gripping read, full of fascinating insights into the skills and mechanisms involved as well as deeply moving vignettes of the heroism and tragedy played out on that fateful October day. Brilliant -- Adam Zamoyski
If you think you know it all about the battle of Trafalgar, think again. Paul O'Keeffe's new book is full of fascinating information that few readers will have come across before ... His book is a must for Trafalgar fans -- Nicholas Best, author of Trafalgar
What makes this account so original and compelling, and quite possibly the best all-round book on the subject yet, is its political, social and cultural context, both before and after the fighting * Spectator *
I was gripped by the wealth of detail and humanity in the book... This is how the tales of battles should be told, whatever the time, place or outcome * Emily Mayhew on Waterloo *
It is all here - and all told with the same verve, eye for anecdote and command of the material. This is a very good book, and a model of how narrative history should be written... anybody remotely interested in the battle should read * The Spectator on Waterloo *
A tremendous tale - one of the most dramatic in our island's history - and O'Keeffe tells it beautifully * The Times on Culloden *
Fascinating, meticulously researched, often brutally detailed ... without being there, those times could not be more vividly brought to life than in this tremendous book * Daily Mail on Culloden *



Book Information
ISBN 9781847921833
Author Paul O'Keeffe
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint The Bodley Head Ltd
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 578g
Dimensions(mm) 243mm * 165mm * 34mm