Losing Nelson

From Barry Unsworth, Booker Prize winner for Sacred Hunger and author of Morality Play, comes a dark, gripping novel of obsession. Charles Cleasby, a reclusive Londoner, has devoted his life to Admiral Horatio Nelson: he re-enacts Nelson's great sea battles with model ships in his basement, marks the anniversaries of his victories, and is writing a biography that will prove his hero flawless. But one episode stands in the way, Nelson's conduct at Naples in 1799, and as Cleasby's typist, the sceptical Miss Lily, begins to question his account, his identification with Nelson threatens to consume him. Part psychological thriller and part historical inquiry, it's a subtle study of hero worship and the stories we tell to protect our idols. This copy is the first U.S. edition, first printing (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, October 1999), with the number line beginning with 1.

Condition: Hardcover with dust jacket, first U.S. edition, first printing. Used, in very good condition. The dust jacket shows some scuffing.