Nelson's Women Book

There have been plenty of biographies of Nelson, and Pocock's own Horatio Nelson is one of the better ones; but he has found an ingenious and illuminating angle to explore with his latest foray into Nelson studies. Women, it seems, were at the heart of Nelson's life. If you pick up the book hoping for salacious details of Nelson's famous love affair with Lady Hamilton then there are tantalising hints of the "effervescence and sheer carnality" that captivated many men, Nelson included--but Emma Hamilton is the least of it. Women were one constant of Nelson's peripatetic life, from his dearly loved mother who died when he was 9-years-old, through to Horatia, his daughter by Emma. It's partly the contrast in all this that is so fascinating: Nelson was so enthralled by women as to become, Pocock argues, almost feminine himself (although, as the book amply demonstrates, he was always "strongly heterosexual"); at the same time Nelson's greatness lies "of course, in his activities away from female company'". Pocock doesn't give us any of the famous naval battles, but the complex ins-and-outs of Nelson's female relationships, and their relationships with one another, are just as intricate and just as absorbing. A fluently written and intriguing read. --Adam RobertsRead More