What do you think?
Rate this book
Nelson's Wake: Under Admiralty Orders - The Oliver Quintrell Series - Book 6
On 21 October, 1805, the British fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson defeats the ships of the French and Spanish navies at the Battle of Trafalgar. But at an enormous cost – the death of Horatio Nelson. After witnessing HMS Victory limp back to Portsmouth, Oliver Quintrell joins other officers and men mourning the loss of Britain’s greatest seaman. The funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral is an awful spectacle. But the ramifications of the battle are far reaching and many post captains find themselves without a commission. Surprised by his good fortune, Captain Quintrell is granted a command, a 50-gun ship anchored in Cork Harbour. Within days he departs Ireland and heads south but without the support of his regular crew. Confronted with an abandoned ship and a rogue officer Oliver Quintrell faces challenges he would never expect.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2020
67 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 5, 2020
Nelson’s Wake Under Admiralty Orders
Nelson’s Wake
This is Book 6 in the Oliver Quintrell Series. Not as much action as the other books but enough for me! Loved the series. In each book I learned something new and informative. Great storyline, with characters you could love and those you could dislike. The funeral of Nelson was described in a way you could totally picture it, and feel the empathy and emotion. I enjoyed the book and was sorry when it was done.
Nelson’s Wake
This is Book 6 in the Oliver Quintrell Series. Not as much action as the other books but enough for me! Loved the series. In each book I learned something new and informative. Great storyline, with characters you could love and those you could dislike. The funeral of Nelson was described in a way you could totally picture it, and feel the empathy and emotion. I enjoyed the book and was sorry when it was done.
September 7, 2020
Adequate
Could have been great, a bit dry and pedantic but descriptive in a way that might appeal to those beginning a study of naval fiction and history. The extensive description of Horacio Nelson’s end seemed like a filler, not germane to the plot. Had that been omitted and more detail about the cruise itself been expanded, it would be a better read for the experienced.
Could have been great, a bit dry and pedantic but descriptive in a way that might appeal to those beginning a study of naval fiction and history. The extensive description of Horacio Nelson’s end seemed like a filler, not germane to the plot. Had that been omitted and more detail about the cruise itself been expanded, it would be a better read for the experienced.
September 4, 2020
Interesting navel history and adventure
It did not have the sailing ship action that was in previous books, but quite detailed information regarding the way and funeral of Neson, one of the sailing actions greatest
It did not have the sailing ship action that was in previous books, but quite detailed information regarding the way and funeral of Neson, one of the sailing actions greatest
Read
July 11, 2021Captain Qiuntrelle
These six books were very easy to read, I enjoyed them immensely! I do hope this is not the end of the Captains exploits and that there is another set of books in the works. There are too many loose threads to toe up...
These six books were very easy to read, I enjoyed them immensely! I do hope this is not the end of the Captains exploits and that there is another set of books in the works. There are too many loose threads to toe up...
May 19, 2022
Excellent!
Yet again a really good read. Twists and turns that stop you putting the book down. An almost text book description of Nelson's funeral - some may like this although I found it a bit too long - having said that, it does fit with the title.
Yet again a really good read. Twists and turns that stop you putting the book down. An almost text book description of Nelson's funeral - some may like this although I found it a bit too long - having said that, it does fit with the title.
October 17, 2022
trafalgar from reports, Nelson’s state funeral and a strange assignment
As this series progresses there is always something good being observed. What a well written account of the end of 1805.
Thoroughly enjoy and recommend this series, hoping for another one soon.
As this series progresses there is always something good being observed. What a well written account of the end of 1805.
Thoroughly enjoy and recommend this series, hoping for another one soon.
September 24, 2023
This book starts out slowly and with a familiar plot. Readers who have enjoyed "Hornblower and the Atropos,"one of C. S. Forester's masterpieces, will recognize the events surrounding the funeral procession of Admiral Lord Nelson in the winter of 1805-06. It's not that author Muir plagiarized anything, it's just that she used the same sources to recount the tale. We can recognize the procession from Greenwich up the Thames, aided by a flood tide, to London and the cathedral. But in this version our hero, Capt. Oliver Quintrell, is with the spectators rather than shepherding the barge carrying the admiral's body upriver as it starts leaking and threatens to ruin the spectacle (and Hornblower's career, too). This telling is much more detached and less compelling.
As the story unfolds, Capt. Quintrell is despatched to a 50-gun ship in Cork Harbour whose previous captain died of natural causes and ordered to take her to Cape Town with ammunition and convict labourers for the recently recaptured Dutch colony. The author has read a whole book on 50-gun ships in this period -- the author's note says so -- but a lot of the action seems poorly thought out and not how things would really have been on such a ship. (Whether this mission truly merits a double-deck ship is somewhat shaky to me but I give the author the benefit of the doubt since I'm not sure it's wrong.) Weren't most convicts sent to Australia in this period? But when she writes that men leave the forecastle to go to the galley for their food, that hits a sour note. The ship would certainly have a forecastle deck but the tween deck under it couldn't be used to house even a quarter of the crew, it's too small! The crews' quarters should be on the lower gun deck and they sling their hammocks above the housed guns. Only one man from each mess, the "mess cook," goes to the galley to collect the rations for each mess (maybe 6 men?) and despite the name, he doesn't cook anything, he's just a glorifed waiter for his messmates. The mess tables are stowed on the underside of the main / upper gun deck and the diners sit on their sea chests to eat. This is told us by Mr. Rodgers in "The Wooden World," one of the books in the bibliography so there's no excuse for the author not to know that. One of the things I don't know about Napoleonic warships is whether there was even a bulkhead at the aft end of the forecastle, or it's open to the weather. We know the quarterdeck has a bulkhead at its forward end to keep the officers' quarters dry, but it's non-structural so it can be sent below when making "a clean sweep fore and aft." In one of the O'Brian books, HMS Surprise has her quarterdeck bulkhead stove in by a boarding sea, flooding the officers' quarters, and that's a good detail that shows what a miserable time the crew were having.
In this book the events of the passage seem contrived and unconvincing. The white squall that puts the ship onto her beam ends seems improbable. It happened in daylight, so why didn't the officer of the deck start the sheets at least? They discover a French frigate derelict and pump her out to salvage her. That also seems contrived and I don't get my ration of naval action. No battle! I'd have settled for a mystery like the Mary Celeste but there's none . Then there's the odd behavior of the first lieutenant. The capt. sends him off in the salvaged frigate even though the two officers haven't been getting along. Then the lieutenant absconds with the salvaged vessel, even though he knows perfectly well it's a hanging offense to do that. There's nowhere in the world he can go to avoid punishment. And after that there's no denouement! After Nelson's funeral it's fast moving but never really goes anywhere. So, I rated it only 3 stars. Not one of Ms. Muir's best efforts, although it does keep your interest.
As the story unfolds, Capt. Quintrell is despatched to a 50-gun ship in Cork Harbour whose previous captain died of natural causes and ordered to take her to Cape Town with ammunition and convict labourers for the recently recaptured Dutch colony. The author has read a whole book on 50-gun ships in this period -- the author's note says so -- but a lot of the action seems poorly thought out and not how things would really have been on such a ship. (Whether this mission truly merits a double-deck ship is somewhat shaky to me but I give the author the benefit of the doubt since I'm not sure it's wrong.) Weren't most convicts sent to Australia in this period? But when she writes that men leave the forecastle to go to the galley for their food, that hits a sour note. The ship would certainly have a forecastle deck but the tween deck under it couldn't be used to house even a quarter of the crew, it's too small! The crews' quarters should be on the lower gun deck and they sling their hammocks above the housed guns. Only one man from each mess, the "mess cook," goes to the galley to collect the rations for each mess (maybe 6 men?) and despite the name, he doesn't cook anything, he's just a glorifed waiter for his messmates. The mess tables are stowed on the underside of the main / upper gun deck and the diners sit on their sea chests to eat. This is told us by Mr. Rodgers in "The Wooden World," one of the books in the bibliography so there's no excuse for the author not to know that. One of the things I don't know about Napoleonic warships is whether there was even a bulkhead at the aft end of the forecastle, or it's open to the weather. We know the quarterdeck has a bulkhead at its forward end to keep the officers' quarters dry, but it's non-structural so it can be sent below when making "a clean sweep fore and aft." In one of the O'Brian books, HMS Surprise has her quarterdeck bulkhead stove in by a boarding sea, flooding the officers' quarters, and that's a good detail that shows what a miserable time the crew were having.
In this book the events of the passage seem contrived and unconvincing. The white squall that puts the ship onto her beam ends seems improbable. It happened in daylight, so why didn't the officer of the deck start the sheets at least? They discover a French frigate derelict and pump her out to salvage her. That also seems contrived and I don't get my ration of naval action. No battle! I'd have settled for a mystery like the Mary Celeste but there's none . Then there's the odd behavior of the first lieutenant. The capt. sends him off in the salvaged frigate even though the two officers haven't been getting along. Then the lieutenant absconds with the salvaged vessel, even though he knows perfectly well it's a hanging offense to do that. There's nowhere in the world he can go to avoid punishment. And after that there's no denouement! After Nelson's funeral it's fast moving but never really goes anywhere. So, I rated it only 3 stars. Not one of Ms. Muir's best efforts, although it does keep your interest.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews