Evan Wilson
@evanwilson.bsky.social
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
Re-Reading Patrick O'Brian
Introducing ... my dad!
evanmwilson.substack.com
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...
It's been done before, yes, but not by me! (or my dad)
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/re-reading...
Reposted by Evan Wilson
Great read.
@smh-historians.bsky.social
@smh-historians.bsky.social
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
Why did convoys work?
The answer might surprise you (sorry)
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Great read.
@smh-historians.bsky.social
@smh-historians.bsky.social
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
Why did convoys work?
The answer might surprise you (sorry)
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
A Plan for Manning the Royal Navy, 1813
From the cutting-room floor
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
A Hurricane in Jamaica
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
A Hurricane in Jamaica
That one, but also another one.
substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 PM
A Hurricane in Jamaica
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
Retraction watch--a double whammy! Plagiarism AND a double submission! Don't see that every day.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
‘More Prussian than the Prussian’? Battlefield Prisoner Killing by British and Canadian Forces on the Western Front, 1914–1918 - RETRACTION | Transactions of the Royal Historical Society | Cambridge C...
‘More Prussian than the Prussian’? Battlefield Prisoner Killing by British and Canadian Forces on the Western Front, 1914–1918 - RETRACTION - Volume 3
www.cambridge.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Retraction watch--a double whammy! Plagiarism AND a double submission! Don't see that every day.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Admiral Lord Nelson in Context
A blast from the past
evanmwilson.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Evan Wilson
oh my god this.
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
The use of present tense in historical documentaries DRIVES ME INSANE.
October 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
oh my god this.
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
I wrote about the Continental Navy on its 250th birthday, specifically about why its dismal combat record obscures its other accomplishments. I've also got a section in there about the challenges the British faced in the early years of the Revolution. Check it out: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
The 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Navy
From Britain's Perspective
open.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I wrote about the Continental Navy on its 250th birthday, specifically about why its dismal combat record obscures its other accomplishments. I've also got a section in there about the challenges the British faced in the early years of the Revolution. Check it out: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
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 ...
defector.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
This.
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
Arms and the Man
Charlton Heston takes on Patrick O'Brian
evanmwilson.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.
August 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy 2
Part two of my review
evanmwilson.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:39 PM
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
HMS Surprise - Cochrane; Maturin's Pay
A Naval Miscellany
evanmwilson.substack.com
July 21, 2025 at 12:20 PM
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
HMS Surprise - Types of Naval Officers
Drawn from the History of the British Navy
evanmwilson.substack.com
July 14, 2025 at 11:12 AM
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...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/really
#navalhistory
Really?
The Unbelievable Stephen Maturin
evanmwilson.substack.com
July 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/really
#navalhistory
Reposted by Evan Wilson
@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...
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
July 7, 2025 at 12:30 PM
@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...
alanlester.co.uk/blog/the-wes...
A short post about Nelson’s handwriting and signature collectors:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...
#navalhistory
Nelson's Left Hand
Necessity is the mother of learning
evanmwilson.substack.com
June 23, 2025 at 11:32 AM
A short post about Nelson’s handwriting and signature collectors:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/nelsons-le...
#navalhistory
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...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
Post Captain - Battle of Cape Santa Maria 2
What the archives say
evanmwilson.substack.com
June 16, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
Post Captain - Mapes Court
A tale of two captains
evanmwilson.substack.com
June 2, 2025 at 11:13 AM
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
Post Captain - Austen's Sailor Brothers
Inspiration and expertise
evanmwilson.substack.com
May 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
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
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
Some thoughts on Jane Austen's depiction of naval officers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Post Captain - Austen's Naval Officers
From dissolute lieutenants to rich post captains
evanmwilson.substack.com
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Some thoughts on Jane Austen's depiction of naval officers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Maybe they were drunk? An occasional series about the eighteenth-century Royal Navy. #navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...
Maybe they were drunk?
An occasional series
evanmwilson.substack.com
May 12, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Maybe they were drunk? An occasional series about the eighteenth-century Royal Navy. #navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/maybe-they...
Reposted by Evan Wilson
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...
patreon.com/thenapoleoni...
May 8, 2025 at 2:34 PM
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...
patreon.com/thenapoleoni...
Our first post on Post Captain, noting the similarities with Pride and Prejudice.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
Post Captain - An Austen Sea Yarn
The story continues
evanmwilson.substack.com
May 5, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Our first post on Post Captain, noting the similarities with Pride and Prejudice.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/post-capta...