Book description
Admiral of the Fleet Lord 'Jacky' Fisher (1841-1920) was one of the
greatest naval reformers in history. He was also a colossal figure to
contemporaries, both loved and loathed, a man of exceptional charm,
presence and charisma. Since the late 1940s, Jan Morris has been
haunted by his face - with its startling combination of 'the suave,
the sneering and the self-amused.' This evocation is both biography
and a love letter, a perfect expression of her passionate interest in
mavericks and outsiders, in travel, ships and the glorious pageantry
of the British Empire in its prime.
Jan Morris was born in 1926 of a Welsh father and an English
mother, and when she is not travelling she lives with her partner
Elizabeth Morris in the top left-hand corner of Wales, between the
mountains and the sea. Her books include Coronation Everest, Venice,
The Pax Britannica Trilogy (Heaven's Command, Pax Britannica, and
Farewell the Trumpets), and Conundrum. She is also the author of six
books about cities and countries, two autobiographical books, several
volumes of collected travel essays and, most recently, the
unclassifiable Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. Hav, a novel, will
be published by Faber in 2006.
