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A Portrait of Lord Nelson
Traces the life and career of the British naval hero, describes his major accomplishments, and assesses his influence on the British Navy.
331 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1958
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About the author
Oliver Warner
81 books5 followersOliver Martin Wilson Warner was a well-known British naval historian and writer.
Warner was educated at Denstone College and Caius College, Cambridge. In 1926 he succeeded Frank Swinnerton as staff reader at the publishing house of Chatto and Windus. In addition to his work as staff reader he also worked on the company's advertising material. As a young man he made contributions to magazines such as The Spectator and Time and Tide, some of which were later reproduced in his 1947 book Captains and Kings. In 1939 he published an account of his visit to an "unworldly" relative in Canada, entitled Uncle Lawrence. During the Second World War he joined the Admiralty secretariat, initially serving in the Commission and Warrant (C.W.) branch[citation needed] before serving on the war artists advisory committee. He later served as secretary to the naval honours and awards committee.
After the war he became deputy director of publications of the British Council, where he remained until his retirement in 1963. he worked thereafter at Chatto and Windus for another year before concentrating on writing. By the time of his death he had more than twenty books in print. He married twice, first to Dorothea Blanchard who died in 1937, by whom he had one daughter. He was married secondly to Elizabeth Strahan, with whom he had one son and one daughter.
-Wikipedia
Warner was educated at Denstone College and Caius College, Cambridge. In 1926 he succeeded Frank Swinnerton as staff reader at the publishing house of Chatto and Windus. In addition to his work as staff reader he also worked on the company's advertising material. As a young man he made contributions to magazines such as The Spectator and Time and Tide, some of which were later reproduced in his 1947 book Captains and Kings. In 1939 he published an account of his visit to an "unworldly" relative in Canada, entitled Uncle Lawrence. During the Second World War he joined the Admiralty secretariat, initially serving in the Commission and Warrant (C.W.) branch[citation needed] before serving on the war artists advisory committee. He later served as secretary to the naval honours and awards committee.
After the war he became deputy director of publications of the British Council, where he remained until his retirement in 1963. he worked thereafter at Chatto and Windus for another year before concentrating on writing. By the time of his death he had more than twenty books in print. He married twice, first to Dorothea Blanchard who died in 1937, by whom he had one daughter. He was married secondly to Elizabeth Strahan, with whom he had one son and one daughter.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 13, 2024
A truly brilliant book
June 28, 2023
A biography of quite possibly the most famous admiral in the world. Victor of the Battle of the Nile that trapped Napoleon in Egypt, and Trafalgar that crushed any hopes of French invasion of Britain (albeit Napoleon had already given up on it and marched off to his own greatest victory Austerlitz). This is very much a standard biography of the late 18th/start of the 19th Century admiral. Nelson is of course an interesting subject with a somewhat scandalous private life with Emma, the wife of the ambassador to Naples, and with his victories giving hope to the nation having been a hero in his lifetime.
As a result of being a hero there is a lot of source material about him. With so much material (excepting the very beginning of Nelson’s life) biographers get to choose what they want to emphasise. Oliver Warner has gone for a greater focus on the private life than I would have expected in a standard biography. This chapter on ‘farewell to england’ is almost as long as the one on Trafalgar and campaign - and even that chapter contains quite a lot on his writings to Emma (a final letter). And the battles, and even more the drudgery of campaigns suffer with less time devoted to them.
I felt that this book gave very little on what made Nelson Nelson. How his character came to be, as very little is given on his early life or time as a midship. There is even little on his early time as captain. It is telling that at the beginning of chapter 2 Nelson is not only already captain, but has been for 14 years already! This is 1793 and the start of the Napoleonic wars so we end up with one chapter covering 35 years and the rest combined 12!
Not much in the way of extras, I feel that anything with battles in needs some maps/plans, in this case I know the main battles well enough I could do without, but that does not mean everyone can. It obviously has pictures of Nelson but oddly the one Werner seems to like best and is ‘the best known’ is left out while others the author rates far less highly are in (p.139), perhaps an unavoidable rights issue.
In sum a somewhat unsatisfying biography. It might work for someone as an introduction but is really a bit long for that so falling a bit between two stools.
As a result of being a hero there is a lot of source material about him. With so much material (excepting the very beginning of Nelson’s life) biographers get to choose what they want to emphasise. Oliver Warner has gone for a greater focus on the private life than I would have expected in a standard biography. This chapter on ‘farewell to england’ is almost as long as the one on Trafalgar and campaign - and even that chapter contains quite a lot on his writings to Emma (a final letter). And the battles, and even more the drudgery of campaigns suffer with less time devoted to them.
I felt that this book gave very little on what made Nelson Nelson. How his character came to be, as very little is given on his early life or time as a midship. There is even little on his early time as captain. It is telling that at the beginning of chapter 2 Nelson is not only already captain, but has been for 14 years already! This is 1793 and the start of the Napoleonic wars so we end up with one chapter covering 35 years and the rest combined 12!
Not much in the way of extras, I feel that anything with battles in needs some maps/plans, in this case I know the main battles well enough I could do without, but that does not mean everyone can. It obviously has pictures of Nelson but oddly the one Werner seems to like best and is ‘the best known’ is left out while others the author rates far less highly are in (p.139), perhaps an unavoidable rights issue.
In sum a somewhat unsatisfying biography. It might work for someone as an introduction but is really a bit long for that so falling a bit between two stools.
November 29, 2022
One would think that the admiration for a man would lessen after reading his biography, showing him as a human being with all his weaknesses and shortcomings. If anything, my respect for Lord Nelson has become stronger and more sincere than ever. Oliver Warner has splendidly written about the life of arguably the greatest naval commander in history, with dignity -as befits him-, while not shying away from his lesser qualities.
November 5, 2021
Fantastic biography of Admiral Nelson! Very easy read.
November 21, 2013
What can i say... Oliver Warner has done a splendid job of recording the life of a great man. A man still sorely missed in Great Britain today (by those who know who he is of course). I am, in fact, sadden that most of the United Kingdoms youth now has no idea who this Admiral is or what he did for his country/crown. What a great shame that is! A man of such history, humanity and love. Thankfully sailors and the Royal navy alike still toast to his health and celebrate his life today. I am proud to say i am one of those few. It was an absolute pleasure to read and packed full of letters, battle recordings and some really insightful history. As a great lover of Nelson i would most definitely recommended this book.
August 21, 2016
A simple, but classic introduction to life of a truly great man.
I originally read this book over forty years ago. The American edition was titled, "Victory: the Life of Lord Nelson." It was the first full biography that I read on Nelson. It was not the last, but I was always willing to give it high marks for being an accurate, well-written look at the man. Warner was considered an excellent Nelson historian. I was pleased to see it , available for download.
I originally read this book over forty years ago. The American edition was titled, "Victory: the Life of Lord Nelson." It was the first full biography that I read on Nelson. It was not the last, but I was always willing to give it high marks for being an accurate, well-written look at the man. Warner was considered an excellent Nelson historian. I was pleased to see it , available for download.
March 27, 2012
A brilliant biography of Lord Nelson. Warner perfectly balances Nelson's personal life with his Naval duties, extensively referencing the Admiral's own letters to various people, including his wife Fanny, Emma Hamilton and various Naval men. Warner does not shy away from discussing Nelson's faults as well as his virtues which gives us an endearingly personal portrait of the national hero.
January 10, 2019
surprisingly (for its age) balanced and critical view of Nelson. Both his abilities and the things which were issues in his character. Warner manages to keep Nelson likable, despite these flaws, and shows us how and why Nelson was so loved. It also managed to make a sensible portrait of Emma Hamilton and her husband.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews