Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon And The Downfall Of Napoleon; The Biography Of A Ship Of The Line, 1782-1836 (SCARCE HARDBACK FIRST EDITION SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR) by Cordingly, David - 2003

London: Bloomsbury, 2003. VG+/VG+. First edition, fifth printing (same year as first printing) in d/w not price clipped. PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, on half-title page. Inscription reads, 'For -------/with best wishes/David Cordingly'. Profusely illustrated with reproductions of paintings, sketches, maps and battle plans. A well-researched and authoritative history of HMS Bellerophon, a 74-gun ship of the line known to her crew as 'Billy Ruffian'. She began her life in 1782 in a shipyard near Rochester on the River Medway, and ended it as a prison hulk at Sheerness. She took part in a number of sea battles; including, the battle of the 'Glorious First of June' (1794), the opening action against Revolutionary France, the 'Battle of the Nile' (1798), the 'Battle of Trafalgar' (1805). With Appendixes, Glossary, Bibliography and Index. Faint age tanning to edges of pages; d/w has minor sunning to spine; else a very good plus copy, in a very good plus d/w, of a SCARCE first edition SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. D/w now protected in a detachable, non-adhesive, clear sheaf. . Presentation Copy Inscribed And Signed. First Edition, Fifth Printing. Hardback. Very Good Plus/Very Good Plus.