Sea Life in Nelson's Time
Last updated: 05.05.20
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Printed: 1972 Author: John Masefield
Publisher: Sphere Books Ltd ISBN: 0851773133
Copyright: Sphere 1972    
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Order No.: Sphere 58920
Paperback (24 September, 1984), Conway Maritime Press.
Personal remarks:
This is the ultimate book, the definitive authority (for me that is!). In describing this book, I cannot improve on the original review given by the Evening News.
"Masefield's first length book is a story, brilliantly told, as only the master could tell it, of the men and ships that defeated Napoleon; it explains in detail how the ships were built, sailed and fought; it describes the life of the men and officers in the Navy, what they did, how they were recruited, paid, fed , punished, enjoyed themselves and died; it tells of a naval glory "built up by the blood and agony of thousands of barbarously maltreated men".
"The truth is, as Masefield graphically illustrate, life at sea in the wooden walls of Britain was the nearest thing to hell that man has so far constructed. Cramped, confined, beaten, tortured, underfed, death at times was a blessed relief for the not-so-jolly Jack Tar".