New AcquisitionsTrafalgar
– The Biography of a Battle; Roy
Adkins;
Little, Brown; 2004;
£20.00;
CA16467
Anyone wishing to
understand something of the context in which the battle of Trafalgar was fought
can do no better than read Roy Adkins’ new book. The notes and bibliography
reveal the careful research which the author has brought to his work.
The result is not, however, a dry recitation of well-known facts but a
vivid and exciting description of the political, social and technological
conditions prevailing at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The author has turned
to contemporary letters, despatches and newspaper reports to add flesh to the
bare bones of the facts of the battle of Trafalgar.
The book is well illustrated with photographs of contemporary portraits
and battle scenes in addition to maps and diagrams of the battle.
Readers will come to understand how much has changed in all aspects of life in the past two centuries and what a pivotal role Nelson and the men and women of his battle fleet played on the 21st October 1805 in shaping modern Europe. As the bicentenary fast approaches, the reviewer commends this book as required reading for those who wish properly to understand what they will be celebrating. - CH
Page prepared 6 December 2004
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