At 12 Mr. Byng was Shot (Paperback)

by Dudley Pope (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A wonderfully compelling examination of the infamous episode immortalized by Voltaire in Candide. Admiral John Byng was shot on the deck of the HMS Monarch on March 14, 1757. His offense: following his superiors' orders. The British navy sent his poorly armed ship to fight the French, using outdated tactics. The offensive failed. Though Byng was cleared of cowardice, he received a death sentence for "error of judgment." He died...giving the signal to the firing squad for his own execution.


About the Author
Dudley Pope, author of the best-selling Ramage series and LIFE IN NELSON'S NAVY, needs little introduction. After service during WWII in the Merchant Navy, he went on to work for fifteen years in Fleet Street before settling down to become a full-time writer. In 1965 he set sail for the West Indies where he lived on his boat until his death in 1997.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Press (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842126075
• ISBN-13: 978-1842126073
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #548,814 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pour Encourager Les Autres, June 13, 2004

By	Matherson (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

The execution (or, as Dudley Pope argues, judicial murder) of Admiral Byng, is one of the most famous firing-squad executions of all time. In the opening rounds of the Seven Years' War, Byng's fleet was sent out to defend Port Mahon on the Mediterranean island of Minorca, then a British colony. Not only was he too late to prevent the forces of the Duke de Richelieu from invading; he was also unable to engage fully the French fleet sailing off the island. For supposed cowardice during this supposedly failed naval engagement, he was court-martialled for cowwardice and shot. As one of Voltaire's characters remarked ironically in Candide, "There is no doubt of that; but in this country it is found requisite, now and then, to put an admiral to death, in order to encourage the others to fight."

In a painstaking reconstruction of both the battle and the judicial proceedings, Pope argues conviningly that Byng ought never to have been charged with cowardice, and that his fleet's engagement was, at worst, inconclusive and that even the French side was highly complimentary of Byng's courage during the battle. More than that, the subsequent trial was orchestrated by Byng's enemies (and the bench packed) in such a way that Byng stood no chance. Finally, the cantankerous King George II was highly vindictive in his determination not to grant clemency and commute Byng's punishment after sentence of death was passed. A gripping retelling of one of British naval history's most infamous chapters - and a passionate defense of a man wrongly accused.