Nelson: The Life and Letters of a Hero (Illustrated Letters Series) - Hardcover

This picture album has one noteworthy distinction from Morriss' previous panegyric to Britain's hero (Nelson: An Illustrated History ): it quotes extensively from Nelson's reports and letters. An autobiographical effect is achieved, though at the expense of historicism, for the geopolitical context for Nelson's voyages and battles is only passingly explained. On its own terms, though, this work should succeed in snaring, on the strength of abundant visuals, readers new to Nelsoniana. Little Horatio was just 12 when he went to sea, and excerpts from his early letters trace his various ships and ports of call. The revolutionary wars of the 1790s began Nelson's famed string of victories, culminating in his death at Trafalgar and subsequent national apotheosis. For spice, Morriss utilizes sidebars to describe contemporary battle tactics and also the Nelson romance that scandalized society. A gateway title that opens up a popular vista. Gilbert Taylor

A similar feat is achieved with somewhat more style in Nelson: The Life and Letters of a Hero, in which British maritime historian Roger Morriss offers a life of the great naval figure centered around his letters. The book is sumptuously illustrated with full-color and b&w paintings, maps, photographs. (Collins & Brown [Trafalgar Sq., dist.], $24.95 160p ISBN 1-85585-274-8.
-, $24.95 160p ISBN 1-85585-274-8)
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.