
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester
About this book
A true story of royal intrigue—with famed diarist Samuel Pepys as the main protagonist—as a fatal shipwreck on the shores of Restoration Britain sparks a mystery that nowmay finally be solved. In 1682, Charles II invited his scandalous younger brother, James, Duke of York, to return from exile and take his rightful place as heir to the throne. To celebrate, the future king set sail in a fleet of eight ships destined for Edinburgh, where he would reunite with his young pregnant wife. Yet disaster struck en route, somewhere off the Norfolk coast. The royal frigate carrying James and his entourage sank, causing some two hundred sailors and courtiers to perish. The diarist Samuel Pepys had been asked to sail with James but refused the invitation, preferring to travel in one of the other ships. Why? What did he know that others did not? Religious and political tensions were rife in the years leading up to the wreck of the Gloucester. James was a Catholic, as was his wife, and there was a large constituency who wished them dead. Plots and conspiracies abounded. The Royal Navy was itself in disarray, badly equipped and poorly organised. Could someone on board be to blame for the sinking, either from malice or incompetence? Nigel Pickford's compelling account of the catastrophe draws on a richness of historical material including letters, diaries and ships' logs, revealing for the first time the full drama and tragic consequences of a shipwreck that shook Restoration Britain.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1: The Norfolk Coast
- Chapter 2: York Buildings
- Chapter 3: Leith Harbour
- Chapter 4: Modena
- Chapter 5: Newmarket
- Chapter 6: Yarmouth
- Chapter 7: Dorset Gardens
- Chapter 8: Portsmouth
- Chapter 9: The Portsmouth Road
- Chapter 10: Deal
- Chapter 11: Putney
- Chapter 12: Erith
- Chapter 13: The North Foreland
- Chapter 14: Lowestoft Lights
- Chapter 15: The Leman and Ower
- Chapter 16: Holyrood House
- Chapter 17: Seething Lane
- Chapter 18: Floors Castle
- Chapter 19: Barber-Surgeons’ Hall
- Chapter 20: Portugal Row
- Chapter 21: Tynemouth
- Chapter 22: On Board the ‘Charlotte’ Yacht at Greenwich
- Chapter 23: The Marshalsea
- Chapter 24: Deptford
- Chapter 25: Horsleydown
- Chapter 26: Wapping Steps
- Chapter 27: The Queen’s House
- Chapter 28: Gresham College
- Chapter 29: Stepney
- Chapter 30: Faversham
- Chapter 31: Chartwell
- Chapter 32: Portsmouth Revisited
- Chapter 33: Fish Street
- Chapter 34: The Leman and Ower Revisited
- Photographs
- Postscript
- Appendix 1: People On Board the ‘Gloucester’
- Appendix 2: Bounty Payments
- About the Author
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Copyright