About Nelson The Sailor
Welcome to Nelson The Sailor: a beginner’s guide to Horatio Nelson.
I am not a historian by trade. I am a writer from Norfolk who accidentally became fascinated by the life of our county’s most famous son (keeping the mighty Alan Partridge in second place).
Going on this journey of discovery, I feel a little like Horatio must have done heading out to sea as a young midshipman (albeit he was twelve and I’m forty – and he was risking his life, whereas I only risk wasting my time). I am, to labour the metaphor, sailing into choppy waters.
Yes, Nelson’s story has been told many times, by historians far more scholarly than me. Yet, I can’t help but feel something went wrong somewhere. The picture became distorted. A hero became a villain. My suggestion is that this current framing of Horatio Nelson as an antagonist is somewhat unfair.
Nelson’s childhood days were spent on the lawn of a north Norfolk parsonage. His statue now stands above the capital city, looking down on Westminster (never a bad idea). His was a remarkable life. It is a story worthy of retelling. Possibly with some rubbish jokes.
That’s where I come in.
My aim is for this website and social media accounts to be a user-friendly guide to Nelson’s life, career, and the era through which he lived. You can read either short posts about my research into Nelson, or longer posts using extracts from my upcoming Nelson biography, The Lamented Hero (see more here).
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Eye-patch. Amputation. Trafalgar. Empire. Slavery. Scandal. Admiral home contents insurance.
Those are the things people typically think of when they hear the name Horatio Nelson. Time has condemned one of history’s great characters to a backroom waxwork, his name only regularly resurfacing in clumsy online debates regarding whether he should be ‘cancelled’.
There is another Horatio Nelson, though. A genius tactician and empowering man-manager, with a bravery that bordered on the suicidal. Whether hunting down enemy warships or doing the gardening, he was an obsessive. He rose from middle class mediocrity to the very top of society, dined in their finest halls, yet always spoke with a Norfolk accent. The ruling classes never fully accepted Nelson, but the public adored him. His early death in 1805 was mourned with a collective national outpouring of emotion comparable only with that of Princess Diana in 1997.
Modern Britain would be unrecognisable without him.
As a writer first, historian second (possibly third), I will almost certainly not be unearthing scandalous revelations or proffering what I believe the kids are currently calling ‘hot takes’ on Nelson. I aim, instead, to synthesise centuries of writing on him and – to borrow another phrase in use by today’s trendsetters – make it make sense.
With British history in such a fragile state, it is easy to see how one of its goodies could distort into one of its baddies. I shall assess accusations against Nelson’s character as and when appropriate, but this site has no pretences to being political. Nelson was raised to be believe in God and country; he despised any attempts to unsettle this order of things. This was a typical standpoint for the majority of his generation. It is only when his actions are viewed through this lens that a fairer picture is revealed.
We don’t need to be historians to know that humans are never two-dimensional. Nelson was neither wholly good nor wholly bad. But he was an exceptional talent who lived an exceptional life.
Perhaps that is a hot take, after all. Make it make sense.
Enjoy reading,
Ryan
Many thanks to the estate of Dennis Creffield for permission to use the distinctive oil paintings on this website’s homepage (which Mr Creffield produced whilst wearing a tricorn hat for inspiration – I ought to try that one day).
Nelson The Sailor 