109. Jack Tar, by Roy and Lesley Adkins
Owned?: No, library
Page count: 391
My summary: Men at sea in the Age of Sail lived varied lives. Much of what passed into legend concerned the officers, the gentlemen who commanded ships in battle - not the majority of common sailors who lived and died on the warships. This book seeks to reconstruct that sailor's life, from the watches he took to the food he ate to the work he did; how he lived and died, as much as can be known.
My rating: 5/5
My commentary:
I've been looking forward to this one! Yet another research book, this one focused on the lives of common sailors during the Age of Sail. It's at least five decades after my period of interest, but that's not to say that it's not interesting! The framework given is Nelson's navy, so the period between him joining the Navy in 1771 and his death in 1805. With a bit of wiggle room, it covers the mid-late 18th century to the mid-19th. As ever, the lives of commoners aren't as heavily documented as the lives of the upper classes, though that's not to say that nothing is known of their lives. On the contrary, there's a lot that can be gleaned of the normal sailors in this time period. This book is pretty comprehensive, each chapter covering a different aspect of the sailor's life - food, work, recreation, health, discipline, et cetera. It's also well-sourced, with plenty of quotes throughout from primary sources, usually diaries or letters or memoirs.
And it's really good! This is the side of history that I absolutely adore, the history of normal people and how they lived their lives. Sailors had it pretty rough - impressment was rife during wartime, meaning that sailors and sometimes landsmen were forced into the Navy, their families and friends having no idea where they went or if they even lived. Pay was atrocious and often in arrears, and shore leave was virtually non-existent. This book gives a pretty balanced and comprehensive view on the sailor's life. Each chapter is detailed and filled with information, there's not a page wasted. It was also very readable, which is a plus for books on the more academic end of the spectrum. Even I struggle sometimes when prose is stodgy and difficult to slog through, but I breezed through this one. Overall, just a really solid book for those who want to know what this particular era of sailing was like for the common man. I cannot recommend it enough.
Next, a wicked stepmother's side of the story.
