The Terror Before Trafalgar

In 1801 as Napoleon's Grande Armee faced an army of English volunteers across the Channel, a secret war of espionage and subversion was being fought by little-known men in the shadows. Mostly a war of the wits known as "The Great Terror," it was a time of secret agents, murder, political intrigue, and secret new weapons - all brilliantly captured in this book by one of the world's foremost authorities of the period. Tom Pocock takes readers behind the scenes as he describes the years leading up to the legendary battle at Trafalgar and Napoleon's threatened invasion of England. Pocock provides a telling picture of the people caught up in these unique events: the admirals, generals, and politicians on both sides, including Lord Nelson himself as he blockaded the French at sea for two years; the women who were caught up in the storm, including Emma Hamilton, Fanny Burney, and Jane Austen; and the less-familiar figures who were, nevertheless, played important roles in this secret war, including Robert Fulton and his efforts to get first the French and then the British to develop his torpedoes, rockets, and submarines.
The author is equally good at describing events in London drawing rooms and on the quarterdecks of French warships, and his book adds thrilling new detail to one of the most discussed battles in naval history. First published in hardcover in 2002, this is the first and only paperback edition available.