Riassunto
Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary Indefatigable, was quite simply the greatest frigate captain in the age of sail. An incomparable seaman, ferociously combative yet chivalrous, a master of the quarterdeck and an athlete of the tops, he was as quick to welcome a gallant foe into his cabin as to dive to the rescue of a man overboard. He is the likely model for the heroic but all-too-human Jack Aubrey in Patrick O'Brian's novels. Pellew was orphaned at eight, but fought his way from the very bottom of the Navy to fleet command and a viscountcy. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet as an outsider with a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command, when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States and free thousands of European slaves. Contemporary opinion held this to be an impossible mission, and Pellew himself, in leading from the front in the style of his direct contemporary Nelson, did not expect to survive. Pellew's humanity as much as his gallantry, fondness for subordinates and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging and sympathetic figure. In Stephen Taylor's magnificent new life he at last has the biography he deserves.
Recensione
'Fast-paced, hugely entertaining biography ... An entertaining, swashbuckling adventure, filled to the brim with derring-do.' --Daily Telegraph
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It may be that Edward Pellew, captain of the frigate Indefatigable, was not the first inspiration for Patrick O Brian s Jack Aubrey, but Taylor s book adds another level of interest and excitement to his story, and salvages the true Pellew from the neglect of naval history. He was a difficult character but his great moment was his last command: a battle with the Barbary States and the liberation of thousands of European slaves. Taylor s thrilling book does him full justice. [Pellew] was a difficult character but his great moment was his last command: a battle with the Barbary States and the liberation of thousands of European slaves. Taylor's thrilling book does him full justice.' --The Times
'Immortalised in naval fiction as mentor to CS Forester's Hornblower and as a model for Patrick O'Brian s Jack Aubrey, Edward Pellew was one of the foremost figures of Britain's golden age of maritime supremacy ... he is skilfully conjured up in Stephen Taylor's commendable biography. Fans of Forester and O'Brian will enjoy this tale of Pellew's meteoric rise from penniless Cornish seaman to commander in chief.' --The Sunday Times
Taylor skilfully guides us through the less exciting passages of Pellew's life, helped along by a minor scandal or two, and many disagreements ... Nobody describes a naval battle better than Taylor ... [Pellew] has never been quite forgotten - his memory is said to live on in the character of Jack Aubrey, the fictional hero of Patrick O'Brian's novels, and it will certainly be revived by this fine book, which seems to me a flawless demonstration of the biographer's craft. --Jan Morris, Guardian
'It may be that Edward Pellew, captain of the frigate Indefatigable, was not the first inspiration for Patrick O Brian s Jack Aubrey, but Taylor s book adds another level of interest and excitement to his story, and salvages the true Pellew from the neglect of naval history. He was a difficult character but his great moment was his last command: a battle with the Barbary States and the liberation of thousands of European slaves. Taylor s thrilling book does him full justice.' --The Times
'A riveting story.' -- Spectator
'A moving and original work of reclamation.' --Daily Telegraph
'A riveting story.' -- Spectator
'A moving and original work of reclamation.' --Daily Telegraph
It may be that Edward Pellew, captain of the frigate Indefatigable, was not the first inspiration for Patrick O Brian s Jack Aubrey, but Taylor s book adds another level of interest and excitement to his story, and salvages the true Pellew from the neglect of naval history. He was a difficult character but his great moment was his last command: a battle with the Barbary States and the liberation of thousands of European slaves. Taylor s thrilling book does him full justice. --The Times
'A riveting story.' -- Spectator
'A moving and original work of reclamation.' --Daily Telegraph
It may be that Edward Pellew, captain of the frigate Indefatigable, was not the first inspiration for Patrick O Brian s Jack Aubrey, but Taylor s book adds another level of interest and excitement to his story, and salvages the true Pellew from the neglect of naval history. He was a difficult character but his great moment was his last command: a battle with the Barbary States and the liberation of thousands of European slaves. Taylor s thrilling book does him full justice. --The Times
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