Gale Force 10: The Life and Legacy of Admiral Beaufort

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'Dover, Wight - Northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5.' While everyone has heard the shipping forecast broadcast on the radio, few realise what the numbers refer to. Known as the Beaufort Scale, it has never been bettered and, as a result, never replaced. This lasting legacy of Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort is only part of his overall contribution to the world of the mariner, scientist and antiquarian.

Nicholas Courtney chronicles the life of this unsung hero whose early years come straight from the pages of HORNBLOWER pirates, wars and royalty and whose later life carries on from LONGITUDE. The story, set at the turn of the nineteenth century, of this courageous officer who was instrumental to the major discoveries and surveys of his day not least the voyages of the Beagle and the subsequent fame of Charles Darwin is told here for the first time.

Reviews

meticulously researched, beautifully written... some of the passages... bear comparison with the best of Hornblower - TLS

Crisp and vivid...a considerate, considered and fascinating account of a man whose cheerful curiosity about the world around him is both a tonic and a lesson. You don't need to be a Patrick O'Brian enthusiast to be gripped by it, but if you are, you certainly will be - Alan Judd, The Spectator

Author Bio

Nicholas Courtney is a broadcaster, biographer and writer of social history, with bestselling biographies of Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Andrew, inter alia, to his credit.