In the Hour of Victory

The Royal Navy at War in the Age of Nelson

By: Sam Willis

Narrated by: Greg Wagland

The greatest victories from the British Navy's golden age, told through never-before-seen letters from the officers themselves.

When Napoleon eventually died in exile, the Lords of the Admiralty ordered that the original dispatches from seven major fleet battles - The Glorious First of June (1794), St Vincent (1797), Camperdown (1797), The Nile (1798), Copenhagen (1801), Trafalgar (1805), and San Domingo (1806) - should be gathered together and presented to the nation. These letters, written by Britain's admirals, captains, surgeons, and boatswains and sent back home in the midst of conflict, were bound in an immense volume, to be admired as a jewel of British history.

Sam Willis, one of Britain's finest naval historians, stumbled on this collection by chance in the British Library in 2010 and soon found that only a handful of people knew of its existence. Willis here shapes that material into wonderful character portraits of the commanders on both sides, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. He also provides concise and illuminating explanations of the convoluted political circumstances surrounding each battle as he expertly reinterprets these key engagements in extraordinary and revelatory detail.

A beautifully dramatic narrative, In the Hour of Victory tells the story of these naval triumphs as never before and allows us to hear once more the officer's voices as they describe the battles that made Britain great.

©2013 Sam Willis. Appendix II. Copyright 2013 by Nicholas Blake. First American edition 2014. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Unique look at major Royal Navy battles

I love in depth research into unique historical periods and topical niches, if you don't this may not be for you. If so, especially this topic, highly recommended; there is probably no other source for much of the detail contained herein.

Oh the Letters

what an excellent and vivid tale of the Royal Navy at the time of Nelson. The letters and their contents, superb.

The Glorious Age of Sale

A wonderful depiction of the battles that made the British Navy what it is. It puts you right there in the midst of the battles and the realities of life at sea. Told through the actual dispatches and letters but the men involved. Highly recommend for lovers of Naval History or those wanting a diverting listen.

Outstanding

Fantastic book, well written, well narrated, and fascinating, a must for the age of sail, thank you

DID IT OR DIDN'T IT???

The dispatches and the context was excellent, especially the insight into captains and admirals.

However, the author ends with a long description of how the British Navy was not relevant and then seems to contradict himself.
A more complete analysis of either position would have been better appreciated.

New perspective

Wonderful book and new perspective for the navel history of Great British. I learned mush about the men that really fought in the battles

Narration flawed

A great book only spoiled by a stilted narration. Poor chapter break spoken and while the diction was clear and well spoken, the pass was not good.

Insightful and intelligent. A widow in to a past.

The age of sail is a magical time. The letters and historical anecdotes make the leaders of the time come alive. You'd love to see it in the movies. These tales are better than the fictional ones .

Great book.

I was lacking knowledge about this subject. This book gave me everything I was looking for, and more. Highly recommend.