Official Blurb
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was an English flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He won several victories, including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was killed. These are the letters that he wrote to Lady Hamilton, with whom he was having a notorious affair until his death in 1805.
My Review
I have to admit to being a bit of fan of history. I've also read pretty much every "action under sail" type of novel I have ever got my hands on. Also I might add, blowing my own trumpet, the first audio book I ever recorded was "The Death of Lord Nelson".
So with those caveats in place let me tell you what I thought about this book... I loved it!
As the title suggests it is a series of letters from a man to his lover. Each of them is facinating on a couple of levels. I really enjoyed the little details to be found here. From the delightful way he would sign off dedicating himself to his lady, to the details of the admiralty politics.
Little historical facts pop out of these letters that give you facinating insights into how life was for these people. For instance that letters sent via the admiralty had weight limits, that they often had to be redirected, that workers for the postal service took fiscal advantage of people who didn't know better.
The letters also show just how human "Nelson" was, how worried about offending people, how money troubles pursued him, how he hated black guards!
I can't really tell you more without ruining the delight you might discover for yourselves.
The only down side is that this book is not voiced by just one person and the change of voice can be distracting when the letters come from the same person.
Reading 2/3
Production 1/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 5/9
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Listen to the first part
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