The Nagle Journal; A Diary of the Life of Jacob Nagle, Sailor, from the Year 1775 to 1841

New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988. First edition. First edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/very good. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. xxx, 402 p. Notes. Glossary. Illustrations (some in color). Index. Price clipped. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Jacob Nagle (1761-1841) was an American and British soldier, sailor, and diarist. He sailed with the famous First Fleet expedition in 1787 as an able seaman on the expedition's naval escort Sirius. Sirius subsequently acted as a re-supply vessel and communications link between New South Wales, the colony of Norfolk Island, and England. Nagle would spend a year on the island until he was eventually collected by a British vessel and returned to England, arriving there in 1792. In 1796, he served with Admiral Lord Nelson aboard the Blanche, and in 1798 he served as "prize-master, " which resulted in his making considerable sums of money from captured enemy shipping. He then entered the merchant marine. Nagle worked on shipping between Portugal and Brazil, basing himself in Lisbon where he lived from 1811-1821. His journal provides a vivid record of the major events. Derived from a Kirkus review: An utterly fascinating first-person log of military, maritime, and civilian life during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Nagle soldiered during the America's Revolution, participating in the Battle of the Brandywine at age 16. He shipped out on privateers until impressed into the British Navy in 1781. Nagle served aboard the flagship of the first fleet to sail to Australia and under Lord Nelson in the Mediterranean during the 1790's. Subsequently, he became a merchant mariner for the East India Co. Nagle recorded his shrewd observations of tavern brawls, prostitution, press gangs, and other quotidian realities of shore leave in ports of call throughout the world. Dann proves a judicious editor, letting Nagle speak while adding enough commentary to provide perspective on the events to which he was a witness. The text (which includes a glossary of nautical terms) is an understated, evocative voice from the past that commands contemporary attention for its humanity as well as acuity.