Trafalgar

Having fought in the most confused and bloody naval conflict that any had known, English, American, Irish, Spanish and French seamen then had to endure a terrifying combination of weather and circumstances - the stuff of every mariner's nightmare. Intriguing characters abound: Geannette, wife of a Flemish 'main topman'; Louis Infernet, propelled to success by the French Revolution; James Martin, a stalwart of the British lower deck; Dionisio Galiano, sailor, scientist and explorer of the New World, and many more. The demands of life at sea - and what this extraordinary mix of people had suffered and achieved in the turbulent years that led up to Trafalgar - make compelling reading.