Fantastic! I just read Storm and Conquest last week and I was struck by how much of a fanboy Taylor was right along with his solid scholarship. It was like having a friend tell me about it! And, as if I were being told by a friend, I spent a lot of time while reading it going "no. Oh, no. They're not going to... oh, that was a bad idea..." I very much look forward to this biography.
I really enjoyed Storm and Conquest, couldn't put it down in fact, but I thought Taylor rather overdid the journalistic license in places. Particularly when he was recounting events that allegedly took place on ships that had sunk without trace ! (Though I appreciate he referenced sources from similar shipwrecks were survivor's had left a record of events.) There's much less of that in Commander, I feel that he's toned his writing style down slightly. Every incident and anecdote is scrupulously referenced and where possible he always quotes from the original sources. Like Storm and Conquest though, it's still a ripping good read!
You'll love it, I think Taylor's done a really good job. I was also really pleased that he quotes extensively from Pellew's very personal and unguarded correspondence to his great friend Alex Broughton. Nod and I have seen quite a few of those letters and they're really very moving.
Some of our boys make a brief appearance too, Will Kempthorne, Jeremiah Coghlan, George Cadogon and a few others. They're only mentioned in passing but it's nice that they're there :)
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Some of our boys make a brief appearance too, Will Kempthorne, Jeremiah Coghlan, George Cadogon and a few others. They're only mentioned in passing but it's nice that they're there :)
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