Fans of Napoleonic military history will probably enjoy this biography. The exploits of Captain Thomas Cochrane have been incorporated into several historical novels – Cochrane’s capture of the Spanish xebec-frigate El Gamo with the sloop-brig Speedy becomes Jack Aubrey’s taking of the Cacafuego with the Sophie in Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander; Cochrane’s raids along the Spanish and French Mediterranean coasts in the frigate Imperieuse become Horatio Hornblower’s cruise with the 74 Sutherland in C. S. Forester’s Ship of the Line; O’Brian uses Cochrane’s involvement in the Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 as the central plot element of The Reverse of the Medal; and Bernard Cornwell has Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sharpe hook up with Cochrane to storm the “impregnable” fortress of Valadivia in Sharpe’s Devil.


The actual Cochrane turns out to be just as interesting (although with a few more flaws) as the fictional counterparts. Cochrane got off to a late start in his naval career, joining the RN as a midshipman at 17 (although a friendly uncle made up for some of the disadvantages of this by putting him on his ship’s muster rolls starting at age 5). Despite being a Scottish lord, Cochrane threw himself into his new trade by temporarily abandoning his midshipman’s uniform and (with his captain’s permission) working as a ordinary seaman on his first ship (many years later this proved lifesaving, as Admiral Cochrane turned out to be the only one on board who knew how to repair the ship’s pumps on his badly leaking flagship O’Higgins). Once Cochrane got a ship of his own, his worth immediately became apparent, as his audacious tactics resulted in the Speedy capturing more prizes than any other ship in the Mediterranean fleet. Although contemporaries and later critics described Cochrane as “rash”, author David Cordingly notes that Cochrane always did careful planning and reconnaissance before attacking; for example, in the capture of the El Gamo, which had five times as many men and seven times the weight of broadside as the Speedy, Cochrane correctly noted that the larger ship would be unable to depress its guns enough to hit the hull of the Speedy when the ships were alongside. Cochrane got lucky when his first broadside killed El Gamo’s captain, but, as Pasteur commented, “luck favors the prepared”.


Cochrane was unlike his fictional counterparts in that he repeatedly and foolishly clashed with his military superiors and with politicians; if he had just been a little more prudent his career might have gone better. Cordingly is on Cochrane’s side in the Stock Exchange Fraud, a “pump and dump” scheme where the conspirators spread a convincing rumor that Napoleon had been killed. Cochrane claimed innocence but the fact that an uncle and an acquaintance profited immensely, and that Cochrane himself made ₤139000, was enough to convince a jury. Cochrane was imprisoned, dismissed from the Navy and expelled from the Order of the Bath (by the traditional midnight ceremony where his banner was kicked out the door of Westminster Abbey).


After his release, Cochrane was recruited as a mercenary by several independence movements, ending up successively as Admiral of the Chilean, Brazilian, and Greek navies (he declined an Admiral’s commission in the Peruvian navy along the way). Finally reinstated in the Royal Navy (with the help an admirer, Queen Victoria), he got to hoist his Admiral’s flag in one more nation (I wonder if that’s a record?). He was seriously considered for Commander of the Baltic Fleet during the Crimean War (at age 79), but it was feared that he would live up to his reputation and be “too rash”. He died at 84 in 1860, and is buried in Westminster Abbey. There is still an Almirante Cochrane in commission in the Chilean Navy.


A great book if you’re interested in the Napoleonic period or military history in general. Cordingly is a curator at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and has authored several other naval history books; I think they will all go on the wish list. ( )

Av undertiteln på David Cordinglys Cochrane: the Real Master and Commander skulle man kunna tro att den skulle lägga en hel del av sin energi på att jämföra den historiske sjökaptenen med hans litterära efterföljare (som de skildrats av bland annat Marryat, Forester och O'Brian). Icke så.

Nog för att hans liv till stor del är lämpat för en roman (sjöstrider! gryningsräder! anfall mot tredubbla övermakten! radikal parlamentariker! rättegång som slutar i oförtjänt vanära! tjänst i nyfrigjorda sydamerikanska staters flottor! upprättelse!), men om man vill jämföra Aubrey eller Hornblower med mannen som på olika sätt stått förebild så får man göra det själv.

Det är nog bra. Som sagt står sig materialet bra på egen hand, även om Cochranes berömmelser idag främst är som förebild, inte för de i sig häpnandsväckande dåd han genomförde. Cordingly är dock fascinerad av honom själv, och även om hans mindre tilldragande sidor – stolthet, paranoia, starkt sug efter pengar och en brist på diplomati – kommer i dagen så är det ändå på hans sida sympatin för det mesta befinner sig, i synnerhet vad gäller rättegången om börsbedrägeriet som avslutade Cochranes karriär.

Men för den som vill läsa biografier om modiga män, i synnerhet sjöfarande sådana, så finns inte mycket här för att avskräcka. Cochranes politiska sympatier gör honom till och med mer sympatisk än många andra subjekt man kan tänka sig. ( )

An easy to read and balanced biography of Cochrane, one of the more interesting personalities in a very interesting time. Cordingly does a nice job of balancing his talents and flaws, of which there were quite a few.

I appreciated the detail with regard to what might have been cosidered minor engagements, such as the defense of Fort Trinidad. I had also read little about the revolutions in Chile, Peru and Brazil, and enjoyed the account of Cochrane's role in each of these. Again, a very nice biography of a very passionate and complex man. I also appreciated the bibliography provided in the book and have added several to my wish list.

On my way now to pull my Marryat books off the shelf and read them again! ( )

Well done. A quick read about a great naval captain who like all of us had some flaws. A thorough and balanced analysis of the controversies in this sailor's life. Some interesting books in the bibliography. ( )

Many readers will come to David Cordingly's The Real Master and Commander from a desire as fans of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester to learn more about the remarkable man whose life provided the raw material for the tales of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower. Make no mistake, however, Cordingly's excellent historical biography deserves to be read on its own merits.

Lord Thomas Cochrane executed such stunningly audacious feats - successfully attacking much larger ships with his small sloop Speedy, leading an attack of fireships on the French fleet at Basque Roads, and helping Chile and Brazil establish their independence - that one might cry `what pitiful stuff' if one read it in a work of historical fiction. But it really happened.

Cochrane was a flawed man who could not restrain himself from reckless attacks on powerful forces in the navy and the government generally. When he found himself entangled in an infamous stock exchange fraud (the leaders spread false rumors that Napoleon had died and then sold their shares when the market predictably spiked), he discovered that powerful men were only too happy to see him convicted and drummed out of the navy. Cordingly judiciously sifts the evidence of Cochrane's guilt or innocence from our vantage point nearly 200 years later.

In addition to his naval feats Cochrane also fought for reform causes as a member of parliament. His intemperate tactics and language did him little good. Of course, he was quite right in insisting that either the electoral system would be reformed from within or reformed from without with a vengeance from without.

After several years in the `wilderness', Cochrane sailed to South America and successfully aided the rebellion against Spain and Portugal. He eventually wore out his welcome there as well, in part due to fights over prize money. From there he went to the Greek Fiasco, as Cordingly aptly names it. He spent his remaining years fighting with some success to restore honor to his name. A sad dwindling away for this remarkable man.

A must read for fans of Age of Sail historical fiction and an excellent histroical biography. ( )