The Log Book Or Nautical Miscellany

Portsmouth Point has always been synonymous with British Naval history, inspiring everything from William Walton's overture to Rowlandson's watercolor. Portsmouth Point: The British Navy in Fiction, 1793-1815 is a timeless anthology of seafaring action that offers a fascinating glimpse of British naval life set against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Each of the stories here covers a distinct part of everyday life on the high seas during wartime, from the daily routines of officers and men on the lower deck to the mysteries of rigging and the perilous nuances of naval battle. All of the authors included in this collection witnessed firsthand both the harsh and humorous realities of serving in the British navy. Portsmouth Point thus reveals both the bawdry revelry and anonymous warfare that occupied the lives of countless sailors. This illuminating look into British naval history will interest scholars of English literature, military historians, and seafaring enthusiasts alike.

This book is both an engaging compendium of nautical knowledge and a random accounting of the ways of the sea. It is the product of Peter H. Spectre's lifelong fascination with the sea, a guide to the good, the bad, and the ugly of a way of life that is as old as civilization.