Review: Dockyard Dog by Lyle Garford | Historic Naval Fiction

I have read many books which feature Horatio Nelson as a character, particularly based around his victories at the Nile and Trafalgar. In an interesting departure Dockyard Dog focuses on a much earlier period of his career, when his efforts to reduce smuggling in the Caribbean made him an unpopular figure unlike later.

The novel follows the exploits of Lieutenant Evan Ross who, after loosing an arm whilst boarding a smuggler, has little prospect of further employment at sea. Nelson uses the young man as his liaison officer ashore in his efforts to get the dockyard working properly and gather intelligence on the smugglers.

The narrative spends very little time at sea instead concentrating on the shore side activities but for all that it was a well written novel with a good well paced plot line based on factual events. Despite this lack of sea time it fitted the genre well and I found it hard to put down.

This is a book I recommend, and I look forward to the sequel.

Source: Review: Dockyard Dog by Lyle Garford | Historic Naval Fiction

Jutland: The Unfinished Battle (HC) | Historic Naval Fiction

This year sees the centenary of the Battle of Jutland and for those interested an excellent resource for both the battle itself and planned commemoration events can be found at jutland1916.com

To mark this anniversary Nicolas Jellicoe, the grandson of one of the admirals, as a new book out in hardcover, Jutland: The Unfinished Battle. It is now available in the UK and will be released in the US on 15 May 2016.

One hundred years after Jutland, the first and largest engagement of Dreadnoughts in the twentieth century, historians are still fighting this controversial and misunderstood battle. What was in fact a strategic victory stands out starkly against the background of bitter public disappointment in the Royal Navy and decades of divisive acrimony and very public infighting between the camps supporting the two most senior commanders, Jellicoe and Beatty.

This book not only re-tells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but it also helps clarify the context of Germany’s inevitable naval clash. It then traces the bitter dispute that ensued in the years after the smoke of war had cleared right up to his death in 1935, Admiral Jellicoe was embroiled in what became known as the Jutland Controversy . Nick Jellicoe is uniquely placed to tell the story of Jutland. His naval connections are strong: his father, the second Earl served as First Lord of the Admiralty while his grandfather, Sir John Jellicoe commanded the Grand Fleet for the first two years on the war, from 1914 to 1916 famously described by Churchill as being the only man who could have lost the war in an afternoon .

Source: Jutland: The Unfinished Battle (HC) | Historic Naval Fiction