Synopses & Reviews
Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary , was quite simply the greatest British frigate captain in the age of sail. Left fatherless at age eight, with a penniless mother and five siblings, Pellew fought his way from the very bottom of the navy to fleet command. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet he had a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, and 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. Opinion held this to be an impossible mission, and Pellew himself, leading from the front in the style of his contemporary Nelson, did not expect to survive. Pellew's humanity, fondness for subordinates, and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging figure. Stephen Taylor gives him at last the biography he deserves.
Review
"If Pellew's life, fired in the kiln of O'Brian's genius, gave us Jack Aubrey, both our interest and gratitude ought to be ongoing and deep." Charles Finch
Review
"Taylor is clarity itself...he has also contributed handily to our appreciation of the workings and vagaries of the Royal Navy." USA Today
Review
"An entertaining, swashbuckling adventure, filled to the brim with derring-do." Katherine A. Powers Christian Science Monitor
Review
"[Pellew] 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." Daily Telegraph
Review
"Meticulous archival research vividly presents a real-life hero whose deeds provided material for C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey." Sunday Times
Synopsis
"Nobody describes a naval battle better than Taylor...a flawless demonstration of the biographer's craft." --Jan Morris,
Synopsis
Pellew s humanity, fondness for subordinates, and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging figure. Stephen Taylor gives him at last the biography he deserves. "
About the Author
Stephen Taylor is a former journalist and foreign correspondent. He is the author of Storm and Conquest and Caliban's Shore. He lives in England.