Author’s Notes
The
naval maxim quoted in Chapter 13 is usually attributed to Nelson. If it is Nelson’s saying, it is likely an
anachronism. He wasn’t even made
commodore until the following year, so even if he had already said it,
I doubt
if his sayings were commonly known. The
line Caroline recites (not entirely accurately) in Chapter 14 is from
“Adieu
Sweet Sun” by Lady Mary Wroth. In
Chapter 16, Edward quotes from Donne’s Elegy XX, “To His Mistress Going to Bed.” Thank
you, Juliet for inspiring me to include more Donne!
Finally, the epigram following Edward’s
letter is adapted from a poem by Lucy Larcom, “On the Beach.”
~~~
I
did attempt to remain consistent with historical fact or within the
Forester/A&E canon, with certain intentional exceptions. The events Pellew recounts from his
childhood and early service are true, but he took command of Indefatigable
for the first time in February 1795, when this story opens. She was laid up for extensive repairs in an
English port later that year, but in Plymouth rather than Portsmouth.
In
1798, Indefatigable was not in the Med, but instead formed part
of the
Channel Squadron. Pellew’s most
important mentor was Captain Philomen Pownall, under whom he served in Blonde
and later Apollo. His service in
Licorne was not nearly so remarkable, so I borrowed that ship
for
Admiral Heywood. According to
Parkinson, Pellew actually did take up farming in the early 1790’s and
he
really did mistakenly try to sell his neighbor’s bull.
In
respect of the unknown and unknowable tenor of
Edward’s marriage, Parkinson says only that “[i]n spite of occasional
differences between them, the marriage was, on the whole, a happy one.” Although their differences must not have
been negligible to be noted in history books, who is to know what those
differences might have been? It is
certainly true that those in command at sea may display certain
fish-like
qualities when cast up on shore, as Edward did here.
For
this story, I broke Archie Kennedy out of the French or Spanish prison
he
probably would have been in at the time and prematurely promoted him to
acting
lieutenant, a position he no doubt would have achieved by then had he
not been
in prison. I couldn’t imagine the
Portsmouth
ball without him.
I
dare say there are any number of other unintentional inconsistencies.
~~~
Thanks
to my friends who read and commented before posting and to all who
commented
via the list! As Caroline might have
said, you will never know how much it was appreciated.