Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain [Hardcover]

Robert Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2000

A seaman as heroic as Nelson, a master of gunnery and genius at deception, a tactician so formidably skillful Napoleon called him "the sea wolf," Thomas Cochrane was an adventurer, admiral, and inventor of new devices of warfare far beyond his time. He made of his life at sea a legend more extraordinary than any of the works of fiction it inspired - like the famous sea tales of C.S. Forrester and Patrick O'Brian's bestselling series of naval novels featuring the redoubtable Jack Aubrey. Barely twenty-five when he assumed command of the Speedy, Cochrane created mayhem in the Mediterranean as he took the tiny brig with its fourteen guns to naval glory and himself to national fame and a fortune in prize money. A maverick, Cochrane often stood at odds with the Admiralty and on occasion operated against its orders. As innovative as he was fearless, he flew under false colors to deceive the enemy, instituted in-shore guerrilla raiding, promoted the use of explosion ships, and experimented with poison gas, propeller-drive ships, and compressed-air engines. Outnumbered and outgunned, he nonetheless triumphed over Spanish and Portuguese naval forces in battles off the coasts of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, where he served as a mercenary in the cause of independence. Born into a penurious but noble Scottish family, Cochrane rose fabulously and fearlessly from midshipman to admiral, from penniless heir to a radical member of parliament to Tenth Earl of Dundonald. He married a penniless orphan and had a long-standing liaison with one of the most famous literary figures of his day. He survived the Stock Exchange scandal that sent him to prison and escaped to South America, where he helped shape the destiny of a continent. Rebellious, dashing, mad, heroic; Cochrane embodies the spirit of the Romantic Age.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thomas Cochrane was one of the most successful captains in British naval history. He was the inspiration behind the famous novels of C.S. Forrester and Patrick O'Brian. Yet he was almost erased from his country's history by a corrupt Admiralty with whom he constantly banged heads. In this history, which should appeal to Forrester's and O'Brian's readers, Harvey attempts to return Cochrane to prominence, focusing on three aspects of his career: fighting captain in the British Navy, radical politician and expatriate military genius who, after suffering disgrace in England, helped South American countries battle for independence. In the early 1880s, Cochrane used deception, tactical strategy and expert seamanship to win battles against supposedly unbeatable opponents. His strength was such that Napoleon dubbed him "the sea wolf," and Harvey captures the excitement of his exploits in immediate, gripping prose. The sections about Cochrane's career in Parliament and his exploits in South America are less entertaining, but necessary in order to paint a complete picture of his life. The book does not shy away from Cochrane's feud with his superiors in the navy or from his alleged involvement in a stock exchange scandal, but in all cases the author comes out as pro-Cochrane. One flaw is Harvey's tendency to assign thoughts to Cochrane without any historical support for them. To his credit, however, Harvey includes many primary accounts of Cochrane's exploits. These, unlike Harvey's speculations, give the reader true insight into a man who inspired so many novels. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A most extraordinary combination of fighting sailor and English eccentric, Thomas Cochrane came from a noble but impoverished Scots family. Going to sea at 17, he commanded a brig at 25 and with it took a Spanish frigate with 10 times as much fighting power. Thereafter, he commanded frigates that greatly annoyed and distressed the Spanish and the French. When grossly insubordinate (though correct) to an admiral who botched a major victory over the French, he was sent ashore. Eventually involved in a stock fraud, he was thrown out of the navy, only to turn to Latin America during the revolutions against Spain. He founded the Chilean navy, helped the Brazilian, and worked well for the Greeks against Turkey. Meanwhile, he fought inept dockyard managers, corrupt prize agents, and Lord Saint Vincent (a bad enemy). He married a remarkable woman 20 years his junior and died full of years, an admiral of the fleet. No novelist would dare invent Cochrane's feats, though Forester, O'Brian, and others have grafted edited versions upon their sea-warrior heroes. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (November 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786707690
• ISBN-13: 978-0786707690
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very sympathetic biography of an extraordinary warrior, November 6, 2000

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain (Hardcover)

Harvey's biography of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, one of the Royal Navy's greatest fighting captains of the Napoleonic era and a hero of the liberation of South America is a vivid, highly sympathetic account of a remarkable man -- sailor, politician, inventor. As the publisher is eager to point out, Cochrane was a model for Jack Aubrey, Patrick O'Brian's marvelous creation (although I must point out that O'Brian gave his literary hero a rather different personality, even if many of his naval experiences and civilian woes are parallels to Cochrane's). It is difficult to believe some of the exploits that Cochrane pulled off and, if they were the invention of a novelist, you would be tempted to dismiss them as being realistically impossible.

I cannot say that Harvey introduces much new material unfamiliar to those who have read earlier biographies of Lord Cochrane, although he perhaps gives a deservedly greater emphasis to his role as a liberator of Latin America from the Spanish empire. Certainly if someone has not read another biography of this extraordinary man, Harvey's book would be a very good place to start. My only real criticism is that perhaps Harvey is somewhat too enamored of his hero, too eager to dismiss possible flaws. This aside, I must believe that Harvey's book should appeal greatly to fans of the nautical fiction of C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian -- it is a case where truth is stranger and more unbelievable than fiction.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rp-snorting biography of an amazing seaman, December 15, 2000

By 

John Cragg (Delta(greater Vancouver), B.C Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain (Hardcover)

Cochrane's life makes for a fascinating tale, here very well told by Robert Harvey. The book rushes along at breakneck speed, bringiug out the essential features of the hero without getting bogged down -- or overly concerned -- with details and alternative interpretations. For once, notes are properly left to the end of the book to be ignored.

Cochrane himself was a mass of contradictions -- outstandingly able to out-think his military opponents, and almost totally at the mercy of his political ones, showing little ability to predict their actions. The venality and corruption of the latter pass belief, as does Cochrane's inability to realize how they will stand in his way. So also is the incompetence of the military commanders. This corruption and incompetence may not be surprising for a country as corrupt in all aspects of public life as Britain at the start of the 19th century. The surprising thing is that they were able to defeat Napolean at all. Where the other British strengths lay, and what might have been the source of the incompetence of Cochrane's opponents is not explored.

While various writers have drawn on aspects of Cochrane's exploits in fictional work, their protagonists have quite different characters from the one presented here. He is more mysterious and possibly less sympathetic.

Harvey does not dwell on the details of the exploits of his hero. He gives most detail to the incredible defeat by Cochrane of a French fleet in the face of notable lack of support from the admiral in charge of immediate British forces at Aix Roads.

All in all, the economy of Harvey's presentation whets one's appetite for more -- more detail, more analysis, more background -- all a mark of a first-rate book. This is biography as page-turner -- and far better than most page -turners.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining hagiography, February 10, 2001

By 

Tim Paris - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain (Hardcover)

Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books will love Robert Harvey's biography of Thomas Cochrane. This book, in fact, reads like a novel and O'Brian's reliance on the facts of Cochrane's career in creating the fictional Jack Aubrey was amply justified.

For his part, Harvey relies heavily on contemporaneous accounts of Cochrane's exploits at sea (including Cochrane's own memoirs) and, even allowing for some measure of hyperbole by Harvey, it must be admitted that Cochrane's career was truly remarkable. An absolutely fearless combatant, usually outmanned and outgunned, Cochrane never shrank from attacking even the most formidable opponents. His exploits in the Mediterranean and later in South America and Greece are well-described by Harvey.

Yet, on dry land, Cochrane's footing was less sure and so is Harvey's. His descriptions of Cochrane's involvement in the impeachment trial of Lord Gambier (arising from claims that the admiral inadequately supported Cochrane's attack in the Aix Roads), and his white-washing of Cochrane's participation in an infamous stock-exchange scandal are not entirely convincing. Although clearly the most daring and intrepid naval commander of his era, excepting only Nelson himself, Cochrane manifested fatal flaws in character (arrogance, contempt for authority, self-righteousness) which prevented him from achieving prominence of historical dimension. While acknowledging Cochrane's character flaws, Harvey admires his hero a little too much in describing these events.

Still, this book can be recommended to anyone interested in naval history or historical fiction. Harvey writes in an easy, engaging style and it would be difficult for even the most inept biographer to write anything less than an entertaining book when the subject is Cochrane.