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Great Gamble: Nelson at Copenhagen
Book by Dudley pope
- GenresHistory
579 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
1 person is currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Dudley Pope
130 books93 followersDudley Pope was born in Ashford, Kent.
By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.
After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.
Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.
Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.
Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.
By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.
After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.
Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.
Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.
Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 11, 2022
Just an excellent book. The author is a sailor himself, so that added knowledge really made this story pop. The book is well written, easy to read, and has good maps and illustrations. I came away with a great understanding of all the politics, maneuvers, etc that made up this foray into the Baltic.
The book covers the careers of Sir Hyde Parker, and Lord Nelson from their time just before the Baltic fleet was assembled, to the end of that campaign. So basically the end of Hyde-Parker's stint in the indies, and of course just having the great victory at the Nile.
The author spent a lot of time on Nelson and Mrs. Hamilton. I think he probably could have trimmed that a bit. It seemed a bit much, particularly when Nelson was in England. It was interesting to read the machinations of the Admiralty. They give overall command to a man who they know is incapable of running this type of command on his own, yet back him up with Nelson, a man more than capable of running the show on his own.
The book goes into great detail about Hyde-Parker's vacillation, in England, as well as when anchored just around the tip of Denmark. Luckily for him Nelson was there to set the campaign back on track. The description of all the preliminaries to the battle, and the battle itself is really detailed and quite interesting. It is also so well written, that what should be dry material, is instead rather exciting. The battle itself, while not that unique, is quite interesting. They say that a battle plan never survives first contact, and that certainly was the case here as well. Ships grounding, causing smaller ships to have to tackle a larger ship of the line, the Danes putting up a pretty good fight despite all their obstacles. However, the outcome was never in question. One thing I did like, was that the author added personal touches throughout the book about the crews on both sides. Giving it that bit of humanity shows, to me, what a tragedy war really is.
One part I particularly enjoyed. I love the movie Master & Commander, and I was stoked to see that a quote in the movie attributed to Nelson was somewhat real. Nelson was being rowed out a couple miles to a new ship because the one he was on temporarily grounded. He had left in haste and did not have a cloak on a breezy, cold Baltic night. When offered a coat he declined saying "No, I am not cold--anxiety for my country will keep me warm.".
I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to know about the Battle of Copenhagen. It is notable, as the author concludes, that this battle may have never happened if Nelson had been in charge, much death and destruction may have been avoided. But, we will never really know.
The book covers the careers of Sir Hyde Parker, and Lord Nelson from their time just before the Baltic fleet was assembled, to the end of that campaign. So basically the end of Hyde-Parker's stint in the indies, and of course just having the great victory at the Nile.
The author spent a lot of time on Nelson and Mrs. Hamilton. I think he probably could have trimmed that a bit. It seemed a bit much, particularly when Nelson was in England. It was interesting to read the machinations of the Admiralty. They give overall command to a man who they know is incapable of running this type of command on his own, yet back him up with Nelson, a man more than capable of running the show on his own.
The book goes into great detail about Hyde-Parker's vacillation, in England, as well as when anchored just around the tip of Denmark. Luckily for him Nelson was there to set the campaign back on track. The description of all the preliminaries to the battle, and the battle itself is really detailed and quite interesting. It is also so well written, that what should be dry material, is instead rather exciting. The battle itself, while not that unique, is quite interesting. They say that a battle plan never survives first contact, and that certainly was the case here as well. Ships grounding, causing smaller ships to have to tackle a larger ship of the line, the Danes putting up a pretty good fight despite all their obstacles. However, the outcome was never in question. One thing I did like, was that the author added personal touches throughout the book about the crews on both sides. Giving it that bit of humanity shows, to me, what a tragedy war really is.
One part I particularly enjoyed. I love the movie Master & Commander, and I was stoked to see that a quote in the movie attributed to Nelson was somewhat real. Nelson was being rowed out a couple miles to a new ship because the one he was on temporarily grounded. He had left in haste and did not have a cloak on a breezy, cold Baltic night. When offered a coat he declined saying "No, I am not cold--anxiety for my country will keep me warm.".
I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to know about the Battle of Copenhagen. It is notable, as the author concludes, that this battle may have never happened if Nelson had been in charge, much death and destruction may have been avoided. But, we will never really know.
September 14, 2024
Fabulously detailed, perhaps a touch overly so in places, history of the Battle of Copenhagen. Very well written and clarifies all the different personalities and timelines. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews