Billy Ruffian

David Cordingly was Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum for twelve years, where he organized such exhibitions as 'Captain James Cook, Navigator', 'The Mutiny on the Bounty' and 'Pirates: Fact and Fiction'. His other books include Life among the Pirates and Heroines and Harlots.

'A thrilling narrative which brings engaging the enemy so alive that you smell the cordite of the guns and hear the splintering of mighty masts and spars' Independent 'A masterly account and, like all good biographies, says as much, if not more, about the historical context as about the subject itself' Sunday Times 'Richly entertaining and informative ... These resurrected log books, captains' letters and court martial reports give us a thrillingly up-close feeling for what it was like to live and fight through those tumultuous best of times and worst of times' Independent on Sunday 'Cordingly has unearthed a revealing study ... The account of Napoleon's brief incarceration on the ship in July 1815 is fascinating ... original and well-researched' Daily Telegraph