The Nelson Almanac: A Book of Days Recording Nelson's Life and the Events that Shaped his Era

by David Harris (Editor), Anthony Cross (Picture Editor / Contributor), Tony Ryan (Contributor)

Color and b&w maps and images from the Warwick Leadlay Gallery relating to Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), the hero of Trafalgar, generously illustrate this almanac a popular literary form in 18th- and 19th-century Britain of Nelson's letters and diary-formatted articles on his life and naval career in the context of world events. Aptly, compiled by a retired British naval officer. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
See this page for more information.

Reviews

[Morgiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Nelson Almanac is an enjoyable book that will be appreciated by Nelson admirers or Age of Sail enthusiasts. As the description says, the book can be divided into three sections: essays about Nelson, written by scholars and other people with expertise in naval history; shorter vignettes about contemporary people, places, or concepts; and the book of days itself. There are twelve chapters, one for each month of the year, each preceded by one of the essays and interspersed with the vignettes. The essays are about such topics as Nelson's early career, his relationship with Emma Hamilton, the battle of Trafalgar, and how the news of his death was carried to England. The vignettes range in topic from those obviously connected to Nelson, such as Napoleon or Josiah Nisbet, his stepson; to those that have very little to do with the man but which provide information about the time period: numerous political figures, the French Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or early attempts at hot air ballooning. This is supported by the book of days, which is actually two books of days: one for Nelson, containing excerpts from his correspondence or logbooks, or sometimes material about him written by other people; and one for events that occurred in his life. Only one day (February 29) has no correspondence, since apparently there is no record of Nelson ever writing anything on that day.

The book itself is beautifully illustrated and pleasingly laid out, printed on very good paper. More maps would have been helpful. It would be a good coffee table book. Unfortunately, the copy editing is atrocious. Every chapter has spelling, punctuation, or typographical errors. I find these mistakes very distracting, and this is the reason why I have given the book only three stars. As far as the quality of the writing is concerned the essays, of course, vary, but are generally very good. I think it a good introduction to Nelson's life and career: there are many excellent biographies, but for someone who wants a briefer overview, this book would be a good choice.