Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain by Stephen Taylor
2013 - Faber & Faber paperback - 354 pages
Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary Indefatigable, was quite simply the greatest frigate captain in the age of sail. An incomparable seaman, ferociously combative yet chivalrous, a master of the quarterdeck and an athlete of the tops, he was as quick to welcome a gallant foe into his cabin as to dive to the rescue of a man overboard. He is the likely model for the heroic but all-too-human Jack Aubrey in Patrick O'Brian's novels.
Pellew's humanity as much as his gallantry, fondness for subordinates and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging and sympathetic figure. In Stephen Taylor's magnificent new life he at last has the biography he deserves.
I'm going to write a regular review for this one - mainly because I don't think I can do it justice with likes and dislikes. Whilst the blurb probably overstates the matter of Sir Edward Pellew being the inspiration for Jack Aubrey - because I suspect O'Brian was influenced by multiple characters from the time, particularly Thomas Cochrane, and because any author/publisher writing about such a figure would be mad not to try and capture fans of the 'Aubrey/Maturin' series (consider me suckered ), and also because Pellew plays a large part in C S Forrester's 'Hornblower' novels - there is no doubt that there are a lot of parallels between the heroic efforts and family life of this man and the fictional Aubrey.
Taylor begins this man's tale at the end, then zips back to his childhood. The son of a packet captain, Pellew was 8 years old when his father died. He lived most of his life either on or within sight of the sea. Even in later years when he became an MP he often fretted about having to spend time in London. He was not noble born - as was frequently alluded to by his enemies within the service, of which their were quite a few - and joined the navy when he was 13, going to sea for the first time at 14.
I was about to say that Taylor doesn't waste much time in getting to the heart of the matter, but the fact is that the pacing of this book is so good that Pellew's early years fly by in a blur of excitement. It is not long before he is captain of the Indefatigable and taking on the action against the terrifying French ship of the line the Droits de l'Homme, the 10-hour-long battle that would make his name.
From there the book encapsulated his time in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean and the many struggles he had, some of which were of his own making. It is clear that nepotism was his greatest fault, continuously either awarding or fighting for the promotions of his two eldest sons, neither of whom was particularly cut out for it, and his often poorly judged letters to the First Lord of the Admiralty would eventually cost him his biggest supporter, especially as another captain was quickly making a name for himself - someone called Nelson.
Fortunately for Pellew, and for Taylor as an author, the man's career was bookended by his other major success, in fighting for the abolition of Christian slavery in the Barbary States of North Africa, and Algiers in particular. It brings the book to a crescendo, and Taylor's vivid retelling of the battle is hugely impressive and very exciting. The pacing of the book is spectacular, even when dealing with more mundane matters, and Taylor maintains it from start to finish. It is a genuinely thrilling account - something I never thought I would say of non-fiction - told with boundless energy and, most importantly, great clarity. He doesn't bombard you with facts and figures in the way that some books do, but introduces people and settings in almost a novelist's fashion. Perhaps the book's one fault is that there is very little in the way of background to the various battles, meaning that it relies a little on the reader's foreknowledge of the history surrounding these events. If you have that, this is a phenomenal read.
There is most definitely an air of Jack Aubrey in Pellew's marriage to Susan, which lasted over fifty years until his death. He was fiercely protective of his family, to his own detriment at times, but he also made and kept friends whom he loved as brothers and whose sons he also took under his wing. Taylor fights his corner admirably when he comes under fire from other quarters. I don't think, though, that he's ever over-enamoured with Pellew's charistmatic, compelling character. Through exhaustive research (it's the first time in ages I have used two bookmarks in one book, as I was constantly flipping backwards and forwards to the notes) he is quite even-handed in pointing out when Pellew was at fault.
Perhaps his biggest problems, though, were that he and his defining ship, the Indefatigable, were nowhere near Cadiz on the 21st of October 1805, and that he didn't die a heroe's death in the heat of battle, as did a certain Nelson. It is rather warming, though, that - in an age where we Brits seem intent on setting our heroes up only to tear them down again - the overwhelming impression is that Pellew was a special man, a family man, a hero to his men, and an incomparable man of the sea.
