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Dead Famous

Horatio Nelson and His Victory

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You've probably heard of Horatio Nelson...He is dead famous for: courageously winning the Battle of Trafalgar carelessly losing and arm and an eye being stuck up a very high column But have you heard that Horatio: nearly got killed by a polar bear ate rats and maggots was pickled in a barrel of brandy? Yes, even though he's dead, Horatio's still full of surprises. Now you can get the inside story with Horatio's secret logbook, read scandalous snippets from The Solar Orb and relive the excitement of the greatest sea battle in history-aboard the Victory.

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First published March 21, 2003

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5 stars
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29 (36%)
3 stars
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Józefcia.
12 reviews
June 21, 2025
i'm almost 17 years old and this is, genuinely, peak of literature
Profile Image for Guguk.
1,343 reviews81 followers
July 17, 2023
~ini juga samaa... (^..^)a

Inget banget pernah baca kisah di majalah Bobo tentang Nelson ini, yang kurang lebih judulnya "Laksamana Berhati Singa" dan begitu baca ini ternyataaa wkwkk ...ya sudahlah, memang manusia itu abu-abu ya~ ^^; *ngaca*
Profile Image for Anirudh.
299 reviews
February 22, 2017
This is about the British Admiral of the 18th and early 19th century, Horatio Nelson, best known for leading the British fleet to victory at the Battle of Trafalgar (the origin of the name Tragalgar Square in London, with a huge statue of Nelson) against the fleet of the Spanish and the French.

The book starts with his early life, being from an ordinary family in Norfolk with influential relatives; especially his uncle Captain Maurice Suckling because of whom young Horatio was interested in joining the navy; eventually going as a midshipman during his uncle's campaign in Falklands. The book then goes on to talk about his various campaigns; such as the one in Nicaragua, France, Italy and Spain (where he loses an eye and an arm) and the successes which made him a national hero back at home. The book also focuses on his personal life, his marriage and eventual affair with Emma Hamilton which received him negative publicity from the British public. The book then goes on to talk about his rivalry with the French icon Napoleon, and how he ended up foiling various plans of his at Egypt, Italy and finally, at the Battle of Trafalgar, where Nelson was killed in action, only to become a national symbol of the UK in future.

This book brought out the various characteristics of Nelson's personality; such as his extreme confidence in himself destined for something great, his absolute lack of modesty about his abilities, his highly conservative views such as opposition to Jacobin clubs and any rebellion against kings, and also, his love affairs. The book could also effectively be seen as a Horrible Histories book on British naval campaigns from 1780 to 1806 covering various wars that Britain was involved in during the period. I felt the illustrations in this book were particularly good, be it the depictions or the diary where Nelson records 'events' - especially where they change the handwriting to a really bad one after the loss of his right hand.

However, I felt that the book could have focused a little more on his journey till he became a captain; which was covered in a single page where it merely mentioned his involvement in Kandyan wars in Ceylon and the Anglo Mysore war in India.

On a side note, this is the second time I am reading this book and the last time I read it was seven years ago, when I was quite impressed by Nelson mainly for his determination, courage and confidence in his abilities even after his disability. However, now when I read it, what actually stood out were his extreme conservative views and his utmost regard for the king (upto which I don't have a problem) and his absolute hatred towards revolutionaries and now, apart from the other qualities, what I feel is that Nelson was part of the snobbish aristocracy in Europe who were delaying the much needed societal reform. But with all this said, I really appreciate the book for bringing out all these details and helping me form an opinion on Nelson.

On the whole, I really enjoyed reading the book, despite it being the second time and I would award the book a rating of four.
Profile Image for Samuel.
66 reviews
December 15, 2025
On 29th September 1758, at the little village of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, Horatio Nelson was born. Then, on Boxing Day 1767, his mom died. Nelson’s uncle was a captain of ships in the British navy, so Nelson could also go aboard and be a midshipman. After some time, he passed a test and became a lieutenant, then because he was so good and after his uncle died, he was made admiral, the top. He lost an eye in one battle, and an arm in another. Finally, he got shot in the backbone by a French sharpshooter, and died. He was very famous, because he won the battle of the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar, which he died in. He also lost some like Tenerife and Boulogne.
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