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Nelson's Surgeon is a well-researched, comprehensive and illuminating account of navel medicine, and a good read as well. Highly recommended. (Paul Chamberlain First Empire )
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Despite the significant role played by the health and fitness of the British crews in Nelson's defeat of the Combined Fleet in 1805, little has been written hitherto about the naval surgeon in the era of the long war against France. This book is intended to fill the gap. Sir William Beatty (1773-1842) was surgeon of the Victory at Trafalgar. An Ulsterman from Londonderry, he had joined the navy in 1791. Before being warranted to Nelson's flagship, Beatty had served upon ten other warships, and survived a yellow fever epidemic, court martial, and shipwreck to share in the capture of a Spanish treasure ship. After Trafalgar, he became Physician of the Channel Fleet, based at Plymouth, and eventually Physician to Greenwich Hospital, where he served until his retirement in 1838. As the book makes clear in drawing upon an extensive prosopographical database, Beatty's career until 1805 was representative of the experience of the approximately 2,000 naval surgeons who joined the navy in the course of the war. The first part of the biography provides a detailed and scholarly introduction to the professional education, training, and work of the naval surgeon. But after 1805 Beatty became a member of the service elite, and his career becomes interesting for other reasons. In the final decades of his life, Beatty was far more than a senior naval physician. As a Fellow of the Royal Society, director of the Clerical and Medical Insurance Company, and director of the London to Greenwich Railway, he was a prominent figure in London's business and scientific community, who used his growing wealth to build a large collection of books and manuscripts. His later life is testimony to the much wider contribution that some naval and army medical officers made to the development of the new Britain of the nineteenth century. In Beatty's case, too, the contribution was original. By publishing in 1807 his carefully crafted Authentic Narrative of the Death of Lord Nelson , he was instrumental in forging the myth of the hero's last hours, which has become a part of the national consciousness and has helped to define for generations the concept of Britishness.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a splendid book. Very readable for such a serious subject and full of interesting information, with the benefit of wide and meticulous research. The content is nicely structured with the early part devoted to the formation of the naval medical service and then moving on to the career of William Beatty himself. It soon becomes clear what an important part hygiene and diet played in the success of the British navy over their less well organised French and Spanish adversaries, and how much Nelson himself contributed to the health of his men. The core of the narative concerns the battle of Trafalgar and Nelson's death, and Beatty's part in the proceedings. The events surounding the publication in 1807 of Beatty's classic "Authentic Narrative" are of particular interest because of the race to "cash in" on the event by being the first into print. Beatty's later career as physician of the Channel Fleet and then at Greenwich is unlikely to be known by many readers, as is the development of a close (but entirely proper) relationship with Lady Hamilton. Little is known about the private life of this Ulsterman who died a bachelor, but by analysing the events of his professional life the authors seem to have come pretty close to the man himself.
In summary then, this is more than just a biography of a sailor doctor who was a participant in one of the Nations greatest historical moments. Much new information is provided about those close to the heart of the action in the naval war against France and the authors could hardly have done a better job in bringing the events to life. It would be a pity if the high price of this 216 page book put off too many would-be readers because they would be missing a treat.
In summary then, this is more than just a biography of a sailor doctor who was a participant in one of the Nations greatest historical moments. Much new information is provided about those close to the heart of the action in the naval war against France and the authors could hardly have done a better job in bringing the events to life. It would be a pity if the high price of this 216 page book put off too many would-be readers because they would be missing a treat.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
absolutely intriguing, informative and very interesting.
Makes you realise how great these great names/men were.
Theydeserve notoriety and not to be forgotten - they were
real men. - Wonderful read
Makes you realise how great these great names/men were.
Theydeserve notoriety and not to be forgotten - they were
real men. - Wonderful read
Format:Paperback
I am sure this is a fantastic book but I have not beeen able to read it!! I have purchased this book twice and returned it twice! each time from different internet bookshops! Before purchasing for a third time from yet another e-bookshop I have asked in advance of puchase if the defect of the book has been remedied - but I have not heard back! The defect, and I now believe this may be a printing error, is that the illustrations as listed on page iv are not present in the book. I have explained to each e- bookshop, in handwriting what the problem is but I guess the only reading that happens these days is bar code reading!
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