Tolstoy vs Jane Austen
Readers of my Alexander Clay series may have noticed a similarity between the main character’s sister, Betsey Clay, and the early life of Jane Austen. Both came from a comparable background, both aspired to be novelists and both had brothers who served as officers in the navy. When Betsey comes to publish her first novel, just like Jane Austen, she does so anonymously. None of Jane Austen’s six novels ever appeared under her name while she was alive. The late eighteenth centu
England Expects
On the 21st of October 1805, the most famous naval battle of the age of sail was about to begin. On board his flagship Victory, Vice Admiral Nelson decided to send a signal to his fleet that was not an order, or a request, but an inspirational message. It was the first time that any Admiral had sent such a signal, and he was only able to do so because of the flexible signalling system that had been provided to him by Captain Home Popham. The thirty two coloured flags were hau
A Ship called Ranger
At the end of 2017, the American aircraft carrier Ranger (CV-61) was finally scrapped, having been out of commission for over twenty years. She was one of the first of the post-war super carriers built for the US Navy, and served throughout the Vietnam War as well as the first Gulf War. She also featured in a number of films, including Top Gun. But this elderly flat top was just the latest of a number of American ships to carry the Ranger name, a tradition which began with an
James Cook and the conquest of Canada
Captain James Cook is famous for the three epic voyages of scientific exploration that he led into Pacific Ocean between 1768 and his death on a beach in Hawaii in 1779. He is much less well known for the role he played before that, in the British conquest of Canada. Cook came late to the Royal Navy. He learnt his seamanship in the merchant service, aboard Whitby colliers that brought coal from the North East of England down to the growing metropolis of London. He was a talen
