Nelson’s Purse: An Extraordinary Historical Detective Story Shedding New Light on the Life of Britain’s Greatest Naval Hero by Martyn Downer available soon at the special BookLovers of Bath web site!
London, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland & Johannesburg: Bantam Press, 2004, Hardback in dust wrapper.
Illustrated by way of: Black & White Photographs; Colour Photographs; Colour Plates; Illustrated endpapers and blanks;
From the cover: At the beginning on July 2002, Sothebys announced to the world the discovery of a major cache of material relating to the life of Englands greatest naval hero, Horatio Nelson. The man who made this extraordinary find and who subsequently spent over a year of his life validating the material and placing it in the context of Nelsons life and relationships was Martyn Downer, Head of Jewellery at Sothebys in London.
The contents of this once-in-a-lifetime discovery are remarkable some objects were thought to have been lost, others had previously never been known to have existed. A mongst the latter is a remarkable archive of letters from Nelsons jilted wife, Fanny, detailing the breakdown of their marriage. For the first time, thanks to this find, Fannys role in Nelsons life acquires real biographical substance. Also in the find are medals, swords, jewellery (including a stunning diamond brooch with the initials H and N gifted to Emma Hamilton), porcelain, weaponry, and other papers and letters (including some emotive letters by Emma and Nelson himself) which shed fascinating new light on Nelsons domestic affairs. Most dramatically, the cache also includes the bloodstained purse Nelson was carrying on the day he was shot on board HMS Victory in 1805, still containing its gold coins.
Martyn Downer tells the extraordinary historical detective story behind this great find and its progress from discovery to auction. It is a story which reveals the intimate life of Nelson, his wife and his mistress in a way which has hitherto been denied to biographers.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Gently bruised at the spine ends and corners with commensurate wear to the dust wrapper. Text complete, clean and tight.
Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. 424 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9½” x 6¼”.
Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I spellbind you with a further miscellany hither or maybe further, handpicked, books in my Biography catalogue?
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- nelsons purse an extraordinary historical detective story shedding new light on the life of britains greatest naval hero martyn downer bantam press 9780593051801
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- nelsons purse an extraordinary historical detective story shedding new light on the life of britains greatest naval hero martyn downer bantam press 9780593051801 b
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