Nelson & His World

I was wondering if any of Nelson's journals have ever been published in any form, apart from quotes in biographies etc?
They have a few of the originals in the British Library but I couldn't get access to them because I'm not studying with a university (which apparently totally blew the mind of the lady at the issue desk as she assumed I was a post-graduate and would be able to get a letter of recommendation, and looked totally bemused when I said I was studying out of my own interest!).

Hi Vickie,

A welcome to the forum from me. It's great that you are studying for yourself, and I must say that I'm rather surprised as the lady's reaction. Keep at it!

If by 'journals' you mean Nelson's letters and correspondence, then yes, these have been published, or I believe a large proportion have been. These, both public and private, are largely the key to understanding Nelson himself, and may be looked on as almost 'required' reading!

Perhaps a good place to start is the seven-volume 'Dispatches and Letters of Lord Nelson', produced by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas between 1844–47. A former naval officer himself he set himself the enormous task of accumulating, editing and putting into print, a large proportion of Nelson's correspondence, which covers his career from 1777 (soon after passing his examination for lieutenant), until just prior to his death at Trafalgar. It begins with Nelson's own 'Sketch of My Life'. However, even though extensive, it is not all embracing, as Nicolas chose to omit, or edit, much correspondence to do with Lady Hamilton and others subjects that he believed were rather sensative topics. This was perhaps both due to the sensabilities of the age, and the fact that he may have been attempting to protect the reputation of Nelson's daughter, Horatia. The seven volumes were originally reproduced in facsimile in 1999 by Chatham Publishing, but I believe they are now available through other publishers. You'd probably have to google around for a good deal on all seven and, annoyingly, most on line traders never appear to have the full set!

The other book I would recommend, as a follow up to Nicolas, is 'The New Letters' by the late Colin White, who sadly died a few years ago. He was for many devotees 'the' authority on Nelson, and had been dubbed 'Nelson's representative on earth'! Anyway, he set himself the task of hunting down a large number of letters that Nicolas had either missed or supressed. There are over 500 in the book, which was published by the Boydell Press in 2005, on the 200th Anniversary of Trafalgar. It is currently available from the publishers at £14.99.

You can probably find Nicolas on line but, like most of us, I imagine you would rather have the book! I hope this helps.

Vicki -
On another forum, I asked the very same question that you pose but no one replied:

QUOTE One sees references in bibliographies to 'Nelson's Journal' and 'Nelson's Private Diaries'. Roger Knight notes that the journal is in the BL but makes no mention in his bibliography of the private diaries. Vincent quotes from the private diaries but doesn't say where they are deposited. Does anyone know?

Also, have the diaries/journals ever been published in their entirety? I have never seen them for sale. Has anyone seen the contents? Are they mainly brief notes or is there a fuller narrative? END QUOTE

I have also seen an extract from 'Nelson's Sea Journal' quoted in Naish's 'Nelson's Letters to his Wife.'

Like you, I would love to see all these papers of Nelson's collected in a single volume.

I was amused but not surprised by the reaction at the BL to your query. The distinguished poet Simon Armitage who recently translated the medieval poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' met a similarly cautious reaction when he asked to see the original manuscript!

Thanks for the replies

I've been looking at the letters in the BL, I'm a little bit addicted to it, actually! I've had a look on Google ebooks and found a couple of volumes of Nicolas free on there, which will be good to be going on with for now - but like you I definitely prefer actual books! They seem quite expensive on Amazon so I'll keep an eye on them for now. It will be interesting to compare them to the originals and to Colin White's book (which I will also get!). That's a phenomenal amount of letters to get through.

There are a series of 3 manuscripts in the British Library referred to as the "Private Diary of Lord Nelson". The full catalogue description is here if you haven't seen it:

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts/HITS0001.ASP?VPath=html/27806.htm&Search=Add.+34968&Highlight=F

There is also another in the Bridport Papers, I think.

I'm quite surprised they haven't been published in full anywhere - though maybe no one who might have wanted to has been allowed near them! It's frustrating to be so close and yet so far.

Thanks for the BL link, Vickie.

Have you tried abebooks for copies of Nicolas? There are occasional volumes for less than a tenner that you can add bit by bit to make a complete set or ask for at Christmas/birthdays (if anybody asks what you'd like!). Ebay often have copies too.

I got my set at Portsmouth Dockyard in a sale at the Nauticalia shop - £45 the lot. Paperbacks, of course. How I long for a proper bound set!

Vickie,

It's ok to be an addict, of the right kind of course – and the good thing is you can't be arrested for it, or at least I don't think so! You'll find quite a few of us dropping in here for a 'fix'.

As Anna said try Abebooks, or other dealers, not only Amazon. You can often get books cheaper elsewhere if you hunt around and, as you've probably found, the prices Amazon sometimes charge are ridiculous! I would think that you can get the Nicholas set, piece by piece, from various dealers, for a very reasonable price. You might even be able to buy the whole set from one source. If you ask for them for Birthday/Christmas presents from your family, be prepared for some odd looks!

Good luck with your researches!

Vicki:

you might also try the Nelson Museum at Great Yarmouth. They have a stock of books for sale and often have copies of Nicholas - I got one for a friend for a few pounds. You can email the curator via 'Contact us' on the link below and she will send you the current list of books for sale.

http://www.nelson-museum.co.uk/

Good luck!

Nelson's last diary, from Sep & Oct 1805, and which contained the codicil to his will, has of course been published in book form, and can be found secondhand and online. More interesting is to download a scan of the original in his will from the National Archives Documents Online service which, if I remember rightly, only costs about £3.50.

Kester - I've had plenty of odd looks already! No one understands

Thanks for the ideas of where to shop around, I'd kind of accepted that they would be books that are relatively uncommon and so cost quite a bit. My partner laughs at me because I am averaging buying a book a fortnight... so I will have to sneak them in somehow

Tony - Thanks so much! I've found it on the National Archives site.

Vickie,

I think that's a cross we all bear at some stage!

Vicki,

When the forum was very young, a member, Billy Ruffian, asked on the 'Inside Nelson's World' forum, 'What do others think of us?' Here is my reply. It's still true, I think:

QUOTE:

'If you are a Nelson fan, people’s view of you will change as you progress in your enthusiasm (madness?)

Stage 1: your enthusiasm will be tolerated and indulged with rolling eyes and a wry smile.

Stage 2: they will realise you are serious and will start to tell you things. (‘There’s programme or TV/article in the newspaper about Nelson’)

Stage 3: they will start to give you things – a book, a picture. They will be HAPPY because you have solved their birthday/Christmas present problem for EVER.

Stage 4: people will ask you to give talks about Nelson and Emma and will PAY you to do so.

I have stopped at Stage 4 and will progress no further.

However, you may progress to Stage 5 and write a book. Then you are a BLACK BELT Nelsonite and if anyone writes a book about a rival that attempts to eclipse our hero, you can throw him over a wall.

Stage 6: when you have written several books you will go to Buckingham Palace and be knighted by Her Majesty the Queen and your citation will say: ‘Sir William Ruffian, for services to Nelsonian scholarship.’

Sorry: that’s it. No tomb in St Paul’s when you pass on. You can’t have everything in this life, or even the next.

Vicki, this sounds like quite an early stage in your addiction - it will get worse. I would advise a deep bookcase where you can hide your stash behind other books. Or do you have any good friends who would hide some of your stash for you?

Hahaha Anna I love that! Especially the throwing over the wall bit. I have almost progressed to stage 3, I think - my brother attempted to look for a book for me for christmas but didn't have a clue so gave me a voucher to get one for myself.

Tony, I would not trust my friends with my preciouses. A new bookcase is definitely in order. Or a shed. No one would look in the shed.

I love this forum already You should all put up a picture of your collections so I have something to aspire to.

Vicki,

Another satisfied customer!

As to your other proposal, I'm quite willing to post a pic of my modest collection – and if the Captain agrees. Actually, I have often wondered what other members collections look like... Perhaps we could start a new thread?

Apologies, by the way, for having previously spelt your name with an 'e'!