Naval Yarns by W. H. Long
April 2019
Fifty real-life stories of the British Navy during the Age of Sail, originally published as a collection in 1899. The stories span the period from 1616 (Dolphin versus five Turkish men-of-war) to 1831 (capture of Spanish slaver by His Majesty’s brig Black Joke). Most of the stories are first-person narratives, often in the form of letters written in the immediate aftermath of the battle or event described, when the smell of gunpowder, suffering of wounded, and frantic repair work still informs the scene. Illustrated with ten drawings by various artists.
Sailors can never get enough of reading about the Age of Sail: a period roughly from 1570 to 1865. And the very best of such stories involve stories about the British Navy, which during that period grew from a motley semi-official collection of patriotic, enthusiastic, privately-owned ships yapping at the Spanish Armada like a pack of terriers at a bull, to the most powerful world-wide military force the world has ever seen.
Sailors can never get enough of reading about the Age of Sail: a period roughly from 1570 to 1865. And the very best of such stories involve stories about the British Navy, which during that period grew from a motley semi-official collection of patriotic, enthusiastic, privately-owned ships yapping at the Spanish Armada like a pack of terriers at a bull, to the most powerful world-wide military force the world has ever seen.