The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon
by David Cordingly
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Description
This is the story of the Bellerophon, a ship of the line known to her crew as the Billy Ruffian. And like any good biography, it runs from birth (in a small shipyard on the river Medway near Rochester in 1782), to death (in a breaker's yard a mile or so upstream at the age of fifty-four). In the intervening years, under fourteen captains, she played a conspicuous part in three of the most famous of all sea battles- the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the opening action against show more Revolutionary France; the battle of the Nile (1798), which halted Napoleon's eastern expansion from Cairo; and the battle of Trafalgar (1805), which established British naval supremacy for 100 years and during which her captain was shot dead with a musket ball an hour before Nelson was mortally wounded. But her crowning glory came six weeks after the Battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon, trapped in La Rochelle, surrendered to the captain of the ship that had dogged his steps for more than twenty years. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This biography of a Royal Navy fighting ship at the height of the age of sail is an engaging snapshot of the period seen through the "eyes" of the Bellerophon and her crew. While one might imagine the description of the builing, outfitting, operations and eventual end of an 18th-Century Ship of the Line would be dry and technical, Cordingly does a fine job of both informing and entertaining.
The stories of the Bellerophon's battles and "adventures" have the right blend of fact and action. In particular, I found the account of Trafalgar very interesting compared to other histories, concentrated as it was on the experiences of one particular ship. That to me personalized the battle better than any other Trafalgar history I have read.
The stories of the Bellerophon's battles and "adventures" have the right blend of fact and action. In particular, I found the account of Trafalgar very interesting compared to other histories, concentrated as it was on the experiences of one particular ship. That to me personalized the battle better than any other Trafalgar history I have read.
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Author Information
15+ Works 4,592 Members
David Cordingly was for twelve years on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, where he was curator of paintings and then head of exhibitions. He is a graduate of Oxford. He lives with his wife and family in Sussex, England.
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Important places
- France; England, UK
- Important events
- Age of Sail; Napoleonic Wars (1793 | 1815); Glorious First of June (1794); Battle of the Nile (1798); Battle of Trafalgar (1805-10-21); Fall of Napoleon (1815)
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 359 — Society, government, & culture Public administration & military science Naval forces and warfare
- LCC
- VA458 .B4 .C67 — Naval Science Navies: Organization, distribution, naval situation Navies: Organization, distribution, naval situation Other regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 276
- Popularity
- 116,454
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 6
