I’m especially grateful to my agent Charlie Viney who inspired this book by encouraging me to have a go at writing fiction. Children’s books consultant Alison Stanley gave me useful help during the book’s early stages, and Dilys Dowswell offered invaluable advice on all my first drafts.
At Bloomsbury Ele Fountain patiently helped shape the narrative and hone the style while Georgia Murray ensured the nuts and bolts of the story were tightened securely. Maritime expert Nicholas Blake gave generous advice on the historic and technical aspects of the book. I was not able to make all his recommended changes, for which I apologise both to him and anyone else more steeped than me in the salty subject of Nelson’s Navy. Phillip Beresford and Katherine Grimes were responsible for the elegant look of the book, and Ian Butterworth created the evocative cover. Peter Bailey’s fine line drawings decorate the inside pages.
Thank you to Kate Lee, Caroline Yates and Leslie Harris for their loan of valuable reference material, and also the staff of the National Maritime Museum Library, Greenwich, and Wolverhampton and Birmingham Public and Reference Libraries for their help during the researching of this book. A bibliography detailing some of the sources used can be found here.
I would also like to thank Anna Claybourne, Alex Costello, Fergus Fleming, Lucy Lethbridge, William and Debbie Lucas, Heather Nolan and Christine Whitley for their advice and encouragement, and, most especially, my wife and daughter, Jenny and Josie, for their help and support in the writing of this book.