"Britannia Rules: The Classic Age of Naval History 1793 - 1815" (used book)

Britannia Rules: The Classic Age of Naval History 1793 - 1815

by C. Northcote Parkinson

About the Book

Used book. Paperback. Good condition

Britannia Rules is an indispensable account of the classic age of naval history, ‘one which can be both a provocative and beguiling primer for new students, and a challenge with new perspectives for the better read’. So writes Captain AB Sainsbury, Vice President of the Navy Records Society and Society for Nautical Research, in his introduction to his new, freshly illustrated edition of Professor Northcote Parkinson’s pioneering work.

The stimulating and balanced narrative takes the reader from the mutinies and threatened invasions of the 1790s to the British victories of Trafalgar and Algiers, explaining along the way in a clear and accessible fashion the naval events of the Napoleonic period, including the battles of Copenhagen and the Nile and the war with America of 1812, while also offering valuable insights into the personalities involved. The argument is not without controversy: the author presents, for example, a fresh and vigorous reassessment of Nelson’s tactics at the Battle of Trafalgar, and, by placing the campaign in its proper context, question previous assumptions about its importance. As well as incorporating plans and battle maps, this new edition is profusely illustrated with prints and paintings from the collections of the Royal Naval Museum and the National Maritime Museum, which bring vividly to life Britain’s epic struggle to attain naval supremacy, and help to make the book the perfect introduction for all those who wish to know more about the age when Britain truly ruled the waves.