The Devil Himself

Must naval history be dull? Never in the hands of master storyteller Dudley Pope! Accurate, fair, thorough, and lively, this penetrating account of a mutiny and its aftermath shows why Pope was as widely respected as a historian as he was popular as a novelist. From contemporary British documents and the dusty French naval archives in Brest, Pope returns to vivid life the men, the ship, and the tragic chain of events following a capture by the press-gang. The French labelled their records of this extraordinary 1800 mutiny 'Le Diable Lui-meme', the Devil Himself. The British crew of the Danae -- a captured French corvette -- mutinied, sailed the ship back to France, turned it over to Napoleon and received a cash reward! Who survives, who hangs, who dies disgraced in a far-off colonial posting -- Pope tells the whole curious story. It was his gift for bringing history to life that led C S Forester to encourage Dudley Pope to try his hand at fiction. Fans of Pope's 'Lord Ramage' novels may even spot the historical figures who inspired some of their favourite fictional character and plot elements.