Allan, Stuart (Author)
Journal for Maritime Research: Britian, the Sea and Global History
Volume: 15, no. 2
Issue: 2
Pages: 167-182
The extraordinary naval career of Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, has generated a corpus of historical biography. However, as several of his biographers have noted, a succession of novelists have also been inspired to adapt his exploits into works of popular fiction. The works of Patrick O'Brian, C.S. Forester and Frederick Marryat all carry imprints of the Cochrane story, and his life was an influence on writers ranging from the Victorian boys' novelist G.A. Henty to the Chilean Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda. This article assesses the causes whereby Cochrane translated so readily into fictional adventure and epic poetry, considering the archetypes of sea fiction and historical adventure, the idiosyncrasies of Cochrane's personal story and the nature of his reputation as a frigate captain associated with success in independent commands. It argues that Cochrane's idiosyncratic and controversial character has meanwhile been as much a problem for authors of fiction as it has been for historians. Individual writers tended to disguise, alter or dispense with him as a character and instead allocated his outstanding deeds to more amenable imagined figures. Others exaggerated his traits for dramatic effect or took partisan positions on controversial aspects of his career.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Wuebben, Daniel;
(2014)
Captain Frederick Marryat and The Floral Telegraph; or, a Forgotten Coder and His Floral Code
(/isis/citation/CBB001201806/)
Chapter
Penman, Leigh T. I.;
(2011)
The Wicked and the Fair: Changing Perceptions of Terra Australis through the Prism of the Batavia Shipreck (1629)
(/isis/citation/CBB001201516/)
Article
Tibbles, Anthony;
(2013)
“Born under an Unlucky Planet”: The Voyages and Travels of Owen Roberts, Mariner, 1739--1831
(/isis/citation/CBB001422449/)
Book
Buchanan, David;
Grogans, Robert;
(2012)
To Auckland by the Ganges: The Journal of a Sea Voyage to New Zealand in 1863
(/isis/citation/CBB001422455/)
Article
Courtney, Stephen;
Smith, Crosbie W.;
(2013)
“Or Vast Fiery Cross, on the Banner of Morn”: Reading the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's Shipwrecks
(/isis/citation/CBB001421377/)
Article
Titlestad, Michael;
(2013)
The Muddy Middle-Ground: Representing the Wreck of the Wager
(/isis/citation/CBB001421373/)
Article
Gill, Ellen;
(2013)
“Children of the Service”: Paternalism, Patronage and Friendship in the Georgian Navy
(/isis/citation/CBB001421375/)
Article
Guly, Henry;
(2012)
Dr. Reginald Koettlitz (1860--1916): Arctic and Antarctic Explorer
(/isis/citation/CBB001200783/)
Article
Simon Naylor;
(2015)
Log Books and the Law of Storms: Maritime Meteorology and the British Admiralty in the Nineteenth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB583747568/)
Article
Webb, Adrian;
(2014)
More Than Just Charts: Hydrographic Expertise within the Admiralty, 1795--1829
(/isis/citation/CBB001421385/)
Book
Taylor, Miles;
(2013)
The Victorian Empire and Britain's Maritime World, 1837--1901: The Sea and Global History
(/isis/citation/CBB001422534/)
Thesis
Dutton, V M;
(cited 2010)
Mortality Decline in the Royal Navy, 1850--1899
(/isis/citation/CBB001567246/)
Article
Pietsch, Roland;
(2013)
Hearts of Oak and Jolly Tars? Heroism and Insanity in the Georgian Navy
(/isis/citation/CBB001200832/)
Book
McLynn, Frank;
(2011)
Captain Cook: Master of the Seas
(/isis/citation/CBB001251078/)
Article
Orr, Mary;
(2015)
Women Peers in the Scientific Realm: Sarah Bowdich (Lee)'s Expert Collaborations with Georges Cuvier, 1825--33
(/isis/citation/CBB001422106/)
Chapter
Niekerk, Carl;
(2012)
Translating the Pacific: Georg Forster's A Voyage Round the World/Reise um die Welt (1777--1780)
(/isis/citation/CBB001202019/)
Article
Cvikel, Deborah;
Kahanov, Yaacov;
Rosen, Baruch;
Saaroni, Hadas;
Galili, Ehud;
(2014)
The Voyage of Leucippe and Clitophon: A New Interpretation
(/isis/citation/CBB001422528/)
Book
Hicks, Robert D.;
(2011)
Voyage to Jamestown: Practical Navigation in the Age of Discovery
(/isis/citation/CBB001421484/)
Book
Brayton, Daniel;
(2012)
Shakespeare's Ocean: An Ecocritical Exploration
(/isis/citation/CBB001201603/)
Article
Cortuo, Esteban;
(2010)
Mario Roso de Luna (1872--1931) Un ocultista peculiar
(/isis/citation/CBB001201534/)
Mariner's Mirror
Victorian Literature and Culture
Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science
Journal of Medical Biography
Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Be the first to comment!