Adrian Tinniswood OBE FSA is the author of fifteen books on social and architectural history, including Behind the Throne- A Domestic History of the Royal Household; The Long Weekend- Life in the English Country House Between the Wars, a New York Timesand Sunday Times bestseller; His Invention So Fertile- A Life of Christopher Wren and The Verneys- a True Story of Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England, which was shortlisted for the BBC/Samuel Johnson Prize. He has worked with a number of heritage organisations including the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Trust, and is currently Senior Research Fellow in History at the University of Buckingham and Visiting Fellow in Heritage and History at Bath Spa University.
This exciting book proves that such obscurity is both surprising and undeserved -- James McConnachie * The Times * This rollicking book unpicks a confusion of names, dates and places to produce a fascinating history of seabourne conflict. -- Christopher Hudson * Daily Telegraph * Adrian Tinniswood is a masterly writer of history with a gift for slamming his readers into the thick of the action -- Jason Goodwin * Literary Review * Tinniswood narrates this story with brio and bravura, displaying an excellent eye for the theatrical detail and juicy episode -- Maria Fusaro * BBC History Magazine * Tinniswood's absorbing book is packed with bad characters, big fights and breathless chases -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail *