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Evan Wilson

@evanwilson.bsky.social

390 followers 520 following 60 posts

Naval historian. Associate Professor at US Naval War College. Views own. New book with Paul Kennedy: Planning for War at Sea: 400 Years of Great Power Competition.

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Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Mar 6

Introducing a new series: Re-Reading Patrick O'Brian. The plan is to post about once a week on the historical and literary achievement of O'Brian's novels.

It's been done before, yes, but not by me! (or my dad)

#navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/re-reading...

Re-Reading Patrick O'Brian

Introducing ... my dad!

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Sep 8

This.

If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough | Defector

There is an easy answer to the question “How long does it take to write a book?” but it is not a true one. The easy answer is the duration between when you actually start putting your pen down on the ...

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 18

And that meant I got to link to my favorite item on JSTOR: Iggy Pop's essay on Edward Gibbon: www.jstor.org/stable/25528...

Caesar Lives on JSTOR

Iggy Pop, Caesar Lives, Classics Ireland, Vol. 2 (1995), pp. 94-96

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 18

I wrote about Charlton Heston writing about Patrick O'Brian in an academic book. What's not to like about that sentence?

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...

Arms and the Man

Charlton Heston takes on Patrick O'Brian

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 12

Nope.

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 12

Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 11

It's the hover-text that does it. Historians, click through:

xkcd.com/3127/

Where Babies Come From

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Aug 11

In Nelson's era, were British ships really worse than French and Spanish ships? I investigate Patrick O'Brian's claims:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...

Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy 2

Part two of my review

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jul 21

I wrote about Patrick O'Brian's evolving relationship with Lord Cochrane, and about how Stephen Maturin lies about his income to Diana Villiers when he proposes in HMS SURPRISE. Check it out!

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...

HMS Surprise - Cochrane; Maturin's Pay

A Naval Miscellany

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jul 14

#navalhistory

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jul 14

Stephen Maturin reflects on the types of naval officers in HMS Surprise. He wasn't the first to do that:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...

HMS Surprise - Types of Naval Officers

Drawn from the History of the British Navy

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jul 7

Patrick O'Brian's Stephen Maturin is an unbelievable character, in the most literal sense. Yet he compels us to suspend our disbelief, and he sticks in our mind long after we're finished with the series. A post from my dad:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/really

#navalhistory

The Unbelievable Stephen Maturin

evanmwilson.substack.com

Reposted by Evan Wilson

Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · Jul 7

@evanwilson.bsky.social’s excellent The Horrible Peace makes the point that while a celebrated portion of the Royal Navy was busy trying to stop the slave trade, the British army was suppressing enslaved people’s bids for freedom in Barbados, Demerara & Jamaica.

alanlester.co.uk/blog/the-wes...

The West Africa Squadron Memorial: An Exercise in Virtue Signalling and Denial

Alan Lester* In recent months the Daily Mail and right wing groups have mounted a clamour for a new memorial to be built in Portsmouth. In principle, the proposal seems reasonable, since it is to c…

alanlester.co.uk

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jun 23

A short post about Nelson’s handwriting and signature collectors:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...

#navalhistory

Nelson's Left Hand

Necessity is the mother of learning

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jun 16

Well, it’s close. Moore stuck it out for almost another decade of active service, and then even sought employment in the peace. But the point stands—it’s real money.

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jun 16

O'Brian's POST CAPTAIN culminates in the Battle of Cape Santa Maria. Here's what the real-life British captains thought about killing hundreds of people (including women and children) with little warning. They still wanted their prize money!

#navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

Post Captain - Battle of Cape Santa Maria 2

What the archives say

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Jun 2

Mrs. Williams vs Diana Villiers—the single-ship action at Mapes Court in Patrick O’Brian’s Post Captain.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Post Captain - Mapes Court

A tale of two captains

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · May 26

We started with Aubrey and Maturin in Post Captain and ended up with Jane Austen and her two naval brothers.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Post Captain - Austen's Sailor Brothers

Inspiration and expertise

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · May 19

Some thoughts on Jane Austen's depiction of naval officers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

#navalhistory

Post Captain - Austen's Naval Officers

From dissolute lieutenants to rich post captains

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · May 12

Maybe they were drunk? An occasional series about the eighteenth-century Royal Navy. #navalhistory

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...

Maybe they were drunk?

An occasional series

evanmwilson.substack.com

Reposted by Evan Wilson

The Napoleonic Wars Podcast @napwarspod.bsky.social · May 8

We have an exciting event coming up soon over on our Patreon! Award winning naval historian Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social will be joining us for a meet the author experience on the 23rd May, for more details please see our Patreon

patreon.com/thenapoleoni...

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · May 5

Our first post on Post Captain, noting the similarities with Pride and Prejudice.

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...

Post Captain - An Austen Sea Yarn

The story continues

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Apr 28

Here's a post recapping what we said about Master and Commander. I've also got an excerpt from a letter from 1780 in which the future earl of St. Vincent threatens to disown his nephew. Check it out!

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/master-and...

Master and Commander - Recap

What we've done; what we're doing next; and a bonus letter from 1780.

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Apr 21

Thanks in large part to you! Gave you a shout-out today in the auditorium.

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Apr 21

And here:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/what-to-ex...

What to Expect When You're Expecting the French Revolution

My chapter from Planning for War at Sea

evanmwilson.substack.com

Evan Wilson @evanwilson.bsky.social · Apr 21

I've also written about it here:

evanmwilson.substack.com/p/best-laid-...

Best-Laid Plans

A new book on 400 years of great-power competition

evanmwilson.substack.com