The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon

Not a new book (2004), but I just finished reading it last night.

Unique in the sense that it is the biography of the ship instead of person - - from its launch in 1787 through the historic battles on the first of June, the Nile, and Trafalgar, and more.

The chapters dealing with the time Napoleon spent on board before his exile were especially interesting.

Some odd facts from this welll-written volume will stick in my brain for a long time, I think. In 1807, its captain undertook a survey of his 387 crewmen (excluding officers). He found that the average height of his sailors was 5ft. 5 in. He also found that 49% were English, 24% Irish, 12% Scot, 7% Welsh and the remaining 8% were orignally from a wide variety of homelands, from Africa to the West Indes to Denmark and Sweden.

Looks like my wish list just got longer

I read this book several years ago, when it was first published. It was a different approach to history for, much as Conaghan states above, it was history measured in the life of a ship.....a novel but effective approach. There's a lot of history here, because Bellerophon was in the thick of the action continually until 1810 when she spent a 3 year commission on blockade duty off the coast of Holland.

Interestingly, my Avatar (Captain Augustus Brine) was her captain during those years, so when I went back to read Bellerophon's history for that period 1810-1813, there was almost nothing there.

This is not "a quick read" because you're looking at 25 continuous years of service....and while the print is small, the story is rich and interesting. Well researched and well written.

It's in my library.

I'm embarrassed to say it is my library as well, and has been so for many years, yet I have yet to read it. 80W has given me the spur, however, and it is next on the list.