Heart of Oak: A Sailor’s Life in Nelson’s Navy

Inspired by Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels, the author visited small museums and private collections around Britain photographing objects - from tar-ladies and snuff-boxes to sailmaker’s lids and carronades - recovered from shipwrecks and preserved by modern conservation techniques. Also photographed is HMS Victory. Advances in marine technology mean that it is possible to establish the identity of a wrecked warship, along with the date and circumstances of its sinking. This book provides, frozen in time, tools, clothing, utensils, weapons and fragments of ships startingly intact, providing a window onto the life of sailors and officers in the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic era.