RECOMMENDED FURTHER READING
FICTION
All the ‘Hornblower’ series C.S. Forester
All the ‘Jack Aubrey’ series Patrick O’Brien
Both the above series provide exciting adventures set against an authentic background of life at sea, and are highly recommended, both as a good read and for their technical accuracy.
UNICORN & LOCAL PUBLICATIONS
Welcome Aboard the Frigate Unicorn
Roderick Stewart 1982
Mariners’ Meals and Other Daily Details
Una Robertson 1982
The Guns of the Frigate Unicorn
Roderick Stewart 1980
Tay Division Royal Naval Reserve 1861-1994
Roderick Stewart & Anna Kettles 1994
Fully detailed technical drawings of the 18-pounder guns as fitted in UNICORN are also available.
INTRODUCTORY & YOUNGER READERS
The Wooden Fighting Ship
E.H.H. Archibald
1968 Blandford
A colourful and accessible overview of sailing warship development, lively illustrations.
An Illustrated History of the Royal Navy
John Winton, in association with the Royal Naval Museum
2000 Salamander Books, London
Attractively illustrated and well written summary.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Hergé
1959 Methuen
Pure fiction, not even this Unicorn, but fun.
THE SAILING NAVY: RECENT PUBLICATIONS
The years since c1970 have seen an extraordinary flourish of very high quality publishing on naval history. In particular, the output from Conway Maritime Press, and now from Chatham Publishing, have provided us with a range of beautifully produced volumes which cover every aspect of war at sea under sail. These are all attractive and authoritative volumes, well written and profusely illustrated. Some of the finest recent works are listed below, but the list is by no means comprehensive.
Nelson’s Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation 1793-1815
Brian Lavery
1989 Conway Maritime Press
Excellent! Probably the best overall summary of the sailing navy.
Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars
Robert Gardiner
2000 Chatham Publishing
The most comprehensive history of the design, development and employment of the sailing frigate yet published Highly recommended.
The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600-1815
Brian Lavery
1987 Conway Maritime Press
Excellent technical resource for modelmakers and others.
Seamanship in the Age of Sail
John Harland
1984 Conway Maritime Press
Illustrated by Mark Myers, a fascinating summary of the practicalities of shiphandling.
Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: The Evolution of Fighting Tactics 1650-1815
Brian Tunstall, Dr Nicholas Tracey (Ed)
1990 Conway Maritime Press
A comprehensive analysis of all the major fleet actions and the development of naval tactics.
A History of the French Frigate 1650-1850
Jean Boudriot
1993 Jean Boudriot Publications, Rotherfield, East Sussex
Comprehensive and thoroughly illustrated.
Fregatte de 18 LA VENUS 1782
Jean Boudriot, H Berti
C1990 Editions ANCRE, 18 Avenue du Bel Air, Paris
Excellent review of a representative French frigate, with a full set of technical drawings and specifications.
Broke and the Shannon
Peter Padfield
1968 Hodder & Stoughton
The story of one of the most famous frigate captains ever, and his ship.
The Frigate DIANA
David White
1987 Conway Maritime Press (Anatomy of the Ship series)
A highly detailed description of the 1794 frigate HMS Diana with comprehensive drawings.
The Sailing Navy List
David Lyon
1993 Conway Maritime Press
A masterpiece of research and compilation, listing and, for the first time, classifying all the ships of the Royal Navy from 1688-1860.
