MARTYN DOWNER

Nelson's Purse

"This is a truly riveting story, a culminating triumph of assiduous detection and fine scholarship which, even if it somewhat bruises the image of Admiral Nelson, adds fascinating detail to one of the most extraordinary love triangles ever known. Downer's wonderful and newly revealed story is essential reading for those longing to know the human side of a great Imperial hero. I have long been fascinated by Alexander Davison's story, and this book is, for me, a total triumph." - SIMON WINCHESTER, author of The Surgeon of Crowthorne, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded and The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

"How could someone so central to Nelson's life have been so overlooked? By following the little-known figure of Alexander Davison, Nelson's Purse brings to light a fascinating character in his own right, as well as wonderfully evoking this great age of naval power. The discovery of Davison's correspondence has enabled Downer to offer a more complete portrait of Nelson than has been given before, one that squarely reveals both his reckless brilliance and his unfortunate, haunting weaknesses. A wonderful voyage." - CAROLINE ALEXANDER, author of The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty

"From its first paragraph, Nelson's Purse is a wonderfully enjoyable and engaging read. Its vivid, well-shaped, and seductive narrative carries the reader along. With acute insight, Downer illuminates the behavior of the constellation of characters in the human drama of the break up of Nelson's marriage. Not least, he reveals for the first time in coherent detail the rise and vertiginous fall of Nelson's confidant, agent, banker, go-between, and Mr. Fixit-Alexander Davison." - EDGAR VINCENT, author of Nelson: Love & Fame

"Nelson's Purse is Downer's fascinating account of his discovery, and his reconstruction of Nelson and Davison's intertwined lives...[the book] sheds significant new light on the complex relationship between Nelson and his wife, Fanny...Between now and next October, the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and Nelson's death, we will be deluged with Nelson-related books, articles and programmes. Martyn Downer's rich, highly personal account of his discoveries, and the new light they shed on the life of our greatest hero, will stand out among them." - LUCY MOORE, author Maharanis: The Lives and Times of Three Generations of Indian Princesses (Daily Mail 15 October 2004)

"Downer's account of the Nelson-Emma-Fanny triangle is a gripping read, and he succeeds triumphantly in rescuing Davison from obscurity." - JANE RIDLEY (The Spectator 9 October 2004)

"Strewn with vivid images, such as the pall of gunsmoke sucked out of the cockpit of the Victory by the blast of a fresh broadside on the deck above, Downer's narrative is well researched and well written" - NEIL HANSON, author of The Confident Hope of a Miracle (Sunday Times 17 October 2004)

"Downer has chosen to combine the intriguing story of this discovery not only with a biography of Davison (a fly yet attractive character, whom he drags from the shadows) but with a rip-roaring account of Trafalgar...[he] has a good story to tell and does so in a high style that will satisfy readers of historical novels. What's more, there is enough strange reality to intrigue those preferring non-fiction" - TOM POCOCK (Literary Review November 2004)

Martyn Downer makes excellent use of long-lost correspondence to recover the flawed greatness of the titan who conquered Napoleon's navy but never himself. An epic and tragic story, here told with flair and with a keen sense of the messy majesty of it all." - JOSEPH J. ELLIS, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation and His Excellency: George Washington.