BILLY RUFFIAN: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon: The Biography of a Ship of the Line 1782-1836

This fascinating biography of the Bellerophon is not only the story of the single ship that took Napoleon into exile - its the whole history of Nelson’s navy in miniature told by acclaimed naval historian David Cordingly.

The Bellerophon briefly held the stage of history when it became the ship that carried the defeated Napoleon on the first stage of his voyage into exile on the distant island of St Helena. But, as distinguished naval historian David Cordingly thrillingly relates in this gripping narrative, Bellerophon’s story was much more than that. His book is a biography of a typical British ship of the line from when it was laid down in 1782 to its inglorious ‘retirement’ in the 1830s as a prison hulk used to incarcerate young offenders. Since these years encompass the Royal Navy’s glory days, witnessing its triumphs under Nelson, the book cannot fail to be an enthralling story - and in Cordingly’s capable hands it is just that. NIcknamed ‘Billy Ruffian’ by the tars who served aboard her, the Bellerophon’s half century of life began in the shipyards of Rochester. She took part in the engagement on the Glorious First of June in 1794 which opened the conflict with revolutionary and Napoleonic France, as well as Nelson’s great triumphs at the Nile and Trafalgar - when her own captain, like Nelson himself, was shot dead at the height of the action. Her crowning moment, however, came when Napoleon surrendered and sailed to Plymouth on board the Bellerophon before his enforced voyage to St Helena. Cordingly’s book is not only the story of a great ship, it is an enthralling history of life and death in the heart of Nelson’s navy.

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Details


Product Code:	10551
Author:	David Cordingly
Format:	355pp, b/w and colour photographs, illustrations, sb. Published Price £8.99
Shipping Time:	This item is usually dispatched Next Day
Retail Price:	~~£8.99~~
Our Price:	£3.95 save 56%