It is 1793 and France has declared war on Britain, meaning that the British navy must serve as both sword and shield to Europe. Horatio Nelson is at this time a slim and sickly 34 year old captain who nevertheless burns with the zeal to serve his king and country, and has recently taken over command of the impressive Agamemnon. Meanwhile, the British navy has taken Toulon by the summer of 1793 through diplomatic means - its foothold in the Mediterranean - but is struggling to hold it. Upon arriving in the city Nelson is shocked to find it besieged by the French, under the leadership of one Napoleon Bonaparte - the first time that these two titanic rivals of history will brush shoulders, but not the last. At last the city falls to the French, and the British must go in search of another Mediterranean base. They settle upon Corsica - Bonaparte’s homeland. It is there, on the morning of the 12th of July that during the siege of Calvi that Nelson is struck in the face by a spray of stone and shrapnel, severely blinding his left eye forever more. Will this critical injury prematurely end his promising career? Just as a great armada of Spanish and French ships gathers on the horizon, heralding the coming one of history's bloodiest naval battles... Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the Siege of Toulon, Nelson’s heroic early forays into the Mediterranean, and the dramatic aftermath of his first near fatal injury. _______ LIVE SHOWS *The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.* If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York. Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Did you know that our Sunday Times bestselling book, The Rest Is History Returns, is now out in paperback? From finding out who British history's biggest lad was to tracing the admittedly hazy ancient origins of Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's filled cover to cover with more curious historical moments than you can crack a lasso at, plus puzzles and a pub quiz.
The Rest Is History Returns, available now in all good bookshops. For the first time, Nelson realised what he was up against. This was nothing like the American War, for the French Revolution had unleashed something much darker and more terrifying. The unbridled fury of a fanatical mob. The savage passion of a people bent on slaughter.
Suddenly, he thought of home, of his father and Fanny and the little church at Bernanthorpe and the gentle fields and sleepy villages of England. And at that moment, he knew he could not rest until these monsters were beaten. But high above Toulon's smoking ruins, a man in a blood-stained uniform gazed coldly across the harbour.
on the face of Napoleon Bonaparte was a thin, cruel smile of satisfaction. So that was a wholly unbiased perspective on the siege of Toulon in 1793, written by a top historian of the French Revolution, Dominic, namely yourself. And this is from your new book for children, instilling in them a due sense of patriotism and suspicion of French revolutionary fervour. And what's he called?
Nelson, God of the Seas? Nelson, Hero of the Seas.
Nelson, Hero of the Seas. The latest volume, Tom, in the best-selling Adventures in Time series. And I think people will say scrupulously fair and forensically researched.
So what I will say is that we've done, how many episodes have we done now of the French Revolution series? 13, I think. And it's good that you're absolutely letting everyone know what your perspective on the French Revolution is, in case anyone had been in any doubt. It's not necessarily my perspective, Tom.
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