Evan Wilson

Great read.
@smh-historians.bsky.social

Why did convoys work? The answer might surprise you (sorry)

Why did convoys work?

With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...

#navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...

A Plan for Manning the Royal Navy, 1813 From the cutting-room floor

A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...

A Hurricane in Jamaica That one, but also another one.

A Hurricane in Jamaica
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Retraction watch--a double whammy! Plagiarism AND a double submission! Don't see that every day.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Admiral Lord Nelson in Context A blast from the past

What made Nelson ordinary, and what made him extraordinary.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/admiral-lo...

History has a whole tense designed specifically for its use. Not many other disciplines can say that!

oh my god this.

And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”

The 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Navy From Britain's Perspective

I wrote about the Continental Navy on its 250th birthday, specifically about why its dismal combat record obscures its other accomplishments. I've also got a section in there about the challenges the British faced in the early years of the Revolution. Check it out: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...

If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough | Defector There is an easy answer to the question “How long does it take to write a book?” but it is not a true one. The easy answer is the duration between when you actually start putting your pen down on the ...

This.

And that meant I got to link to my favorite item on JSTOR: Iggy Pop's essay on Edward Gibbon: www.jstor.org/stable/25528...

Arms and the Man Charlton Heston takes on Patrick O'Brian

I wrote about Charlton Heston writing about Patrick O'Brian in an academic book. What's not to like about that sentence?

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...

Nope.

Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.

Where Babies Come From

It's the hover-text that does it. Historians, click through:

xkcd.com/3127/

Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy 2 Part two of my review

In Nelson's era, were British ships really worse than French and Spanish ships? I investigate Patrick O'Brian's claims:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...

HMS Surprise - Cochrane; Maturin's Pay A Naval Miscellany

I wrote about Patrick O'Brian's evolving relationship with Lord Cochrane, and about how Stephen Maturin lies about his income to Diana Villiers when he proposes in HMS SURPRISE. Check it out!

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...

#navalhistory

HMS Surprise - Types of Naval Officers Drawn from the History of the British Navy

Stephen Maturin reflects on the types of naval officers in HMS Surprise. He wasn't the first to do that:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...

Really? The Unbelievable Stephen Maturin

Patrick O'Brian's Stephen Maturin is an unbelievable character, in the most literal sense. Yet he compels us to suspend our disbelief, and he sticks in our mind long after we're finished with the series. A post from my dad:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/really

#navalhistory

The West Africa Squadron Memorial: An Exercise in Virtue Signalling and Denial Alan Lester* In recent months the Daily Mail and right wing groups have mounted a clamour for a new memorial to be built in Portsmouth. In principle, the proposal seems reasonable, since it is to c…

@evanwilson.bsky.social’s excellent The Horrible Peace makes the point that while a celebrated portion of the Royal Navy was busy trying to stop the slave trade, the British army was suppressing enslaved people’s bids for freedom in Barbados, Demerara & Jamaica.

alanlester.co.uk/blog/the-wes...

Nelson's Left Hand Necessity is the mother of learning

A short post about Nelson’s handwriting and signature collectors:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...

#navalhistory

Well, it’s close. Moore stuck it out for almost another decade of active service, and then even sought employment in the peace. But the point stands—it’s real money.

Post Captain - Battle of Cape Santa Maria 2 What the archives say

O'Brian's POST CAPTAIN culminates in the Battle of Cape Santa Maria. Here's what the real-life British captains thought about killing hundreds of people (including women and children) with little warning. They still wanted their prize money!

#navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

Post Captain - Mapes Court A tale of two captains

Mrs. Williams vs Diana Villiers—the single-ship action at Mapes Court in Patrick O’Brian’s Post Captain.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Post Captain - Austen's Sailor Brothers Inspiration and expertise

We started with Aubrey and Maturin in Post Captain and ended up with Jane Austen and her two naval brothers.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Post Captain - Austen's Naval Officers From dissolute lieutenants to rich post captains

Some thoughts on Jane Austen's depiction of naval officers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Maybe they were drunk? An occasional series

Maybe they were drunk? An occasional series about the eighteenth-century Royal Navy. #navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...

We have an exciting event coming up soon over on our Patreon! Award winning naval historian Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social will be joining us for a meet the author experience on the 23rd May, for more details please see our Patreon

patreon.com/thenapoleoni...

Post Captain - An Austen Sea Yarn The story continues

Our first post on Post Captain, noting the similarities with Pride and Prejudice.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...