Lavery, B: Shipboard Life and Organisation, 1731-1815

First published in 1998, this volume explores the Royal Navy which had most of its greatest triumphs in the decades up to 1815, but has received relatively little study of its social life and shipboard administration, beyond popular myth and sensational accounts. This volume starts with the formal structure of naval discipline, with Admiralty instructions and captains' orderbooks. It then looks at how things really happened, using diaries, medical journals, petitions, court martial reports and even the menu book of a semi-literate steward. It reveals many strong characters and colourful incidents of shipboard life, while providing material for study.