Memoirs of the Life of Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B. Duke of Bronte, Etc. Etc. Etc. Vol. I. - Thomas Joseph Pettigrew

Originally published in 1849, this work contains a wealth of information on the life and exploits of one of Britain's most famous military leaders, Admiral Horatio Nelson. The following passage is taken from its preface: 'The various Biographies of Lord Nelson by Clarke and McArthur, Charnock, White, Churchill, Harrison, and at a later period, Southey, may reasonably be presumed to have exhausted the materials relating to the history of Eng- land's most highly esteemed, brave, and patriotic Admiral; but the recent voluminous publication of his Dispatches and Letters, under the editorial care of the late Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, added to the discovery of his Private Correspondence, extending from 1 798 to the day of his death, now in my possession, will be found to throw new light upon many of the transactions in which he was engaged; and also, to afford illustrations of his mind and character, which nothing but his private and unrestrained correspondence could possibly afford. There is a delicacy, however, necessary to be preserved under such circumstances, with regard to the individuals concerned, and this delicacy would have been most especially demanded in the case of Lord Nelson in relation to Lady Hamilton, had he not himself made the matter a subject of history by naming her and his child Horatia in a Codicil to his Will on the day of his death, and leaving them as a testamentary bequest to his country.'