Conville & Walsh
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The Rise and Fall of the British Navy
- Author: Ben Wilson
- Category: Non-fiction
- Publisher: Orion (UK)
- Pub date: Spring 2013
- Length: 175,000 words approx
About The Rise and Fall of the British Navy
Wilson has a flair amounting almost to genius
– OBSERVER on DECENCY AND DISORDER
Ben Wilson, considered to be one of the finest young historians of his generation, takes us on an incredible seafaring journey as he re-tells the story of the British Navy and its part in consolidating the identity of “this island race”.
Starting with the Anglo-Saxon invasion by sea, Wilson brings his tremendous powers of narrative and sense of detail to the long and gradual story of Britain‟s emergence as a global super-power through naval dominance. In their efforts to dominate the North Atlantic, early sailors battled continuously with the elements and it was only when technology eventually caught up that this pursuit for international supremacy took on a far more robust form.
Wilson charts this oceanic journey, from Henry VIII‟s formation of a permanent naval force – from the surprise success of the defeat of the Armada, a battle that would change the course of European history, to the long and gruelling sea battles with Holland for international dominance over the mercantile waterways in the 17th Century, through to the triumph and tragedy of the Battle of Trafalgar – with characteristic brilliance and huge aplomb.
About the Author
Ben Wilson was born in 1980 and educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class degree and an MPhil in history. He is the author of three books and was named in 2005 as one of Waterstone’s 25 Authors of the Future. He has consulted on scripts for various TV history progammes, and has himself appeared on TV and on national radio in the UK, Ireland and the USA. He has given lectures at Tate Britain, Cambridge and Zagreb and at book festivals in the UK including the Edinburgh Festival. He has written for the Spectator, Literary Review, Independent on Sunday, Scotsman, Men’s Health, Guardian Online and GQ.