About the Author

James Davey is curator of naval history at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. He lives in Greenwich, London.

Reviews

“[A] truly masterly piece of work."—Navy News

“James Davey, a curator at the National Maritime Museum, leads us into the world of Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, and he is a conscientious guide with an eye for arcane details”—Lawrence James, Times (London)

“James Davey’s book demonstrates that the French defeat at Trafalgar was not so comprehensive that it ended Napoleon’s seaborne ambition and insists that the war was not over in 1805… It was critical in these circumstances that Britain should maintain its naval strength, and Davey shows how effectively it did so.”—Alan Forrest, BBC History Magazine

"For all the tragic glory of Trafalgar it would take another ten years before Napoleon was finally defeated, years in which Nelson's successors waged a world wide war against France, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and the United States. James Davey's elegant analysis demonstrates the importance of the Royal Navy's last great war under sail, the skill with which it was fought, and the quintessential character that made the British sailor into a national hero."—Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812

"This important book fills a deep void. For well over a hundred years no-one has written a comprehensive naval history of Britain in the ten years after Trafalgar. In Nelson's Wake, however, is much more than an operational narrative, for it is set in a rich context of British strategy and politics, resources and organisation, revealed through mature and thorough scholarship. It is essential reading for all who wish to understand the hard-fought victory over Napoleonic France."—Roger Knight, author of Britain Again Napoleon: The Organisation of Victory, 1793–1815 


"For all the tragic glory of Trafalgar it would take another ten years before Napoleon was finally defeated. James Davey's elegant analysis demonstrates the importance of the Royal Navy's last great war under sail, the skill with which it was fought, and the quintessential character that made the British sailor into a national hero."—Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812