Trafalgar Squared

As Emma prepares a home for a hero Nelson has become essential to his country's defence. During the brief Peace of Amiens Nelson and Emma enjoy precious time together but it is only with the passing of Sir William that they get to live as man and wife with their child Horatia - but when it comes to it, with war once again declared, this brief idyl is cut cruelly short. After just two weeks together at 'Paradise Merton' Nelson sets out to defend his country one more time...

When Nelson, with his lover Emma and her husband in tow, met his wife at Nerots Hotel in London, after a two year separation, the one thing that was certain was that he was entering choppy waters. Nelson's hope of putting on a respectable front while continuing his affair was hopelessly unrealistic and things soon fell apart. His untidy private life now affected his professional standing, and despite his great victory at The Nile he was placed second in command of his next great expedition. And with Emma pregnant and the Prince of Wales infatuated with her, things were about to get even more complicated. But one thing was almost always certain with nelson - send him to fight and the sparks would fly. At Copenhagen Nelson endured his bloodiest and most controversial battle, and it was one that proved, once and for all, that he was his country' most reliable and terrifying weapon.

Emma and Nelson had met briefly five years before but it was when they met in Naples in 1798 following his victory at The Battle of the Nile that they began to fall in love. In the heady atmosphere of a lavish Bourbon court, where both held significant influence, their regard for each other grew apace as chaos engulfed the kingdom. Forced to evacuate the royal family to Sicily Nelson began to fall seriously in love with Emma when he witnessed her strength and courage in the violent storm that hit Nelson's squadron during the crossing. In Palermo Emma and Nelson spent more and more time together and gossip was soon tarnishing the hero's reputation. By the time Nelson and the Hamilton's embarked on a somewhat bizarre tour of the courts and capitals of Europe few had not heard about the notorious affair of the one armed admiral and the ambassador's wife. Yet everywhere he went Nelson was mobbed by the populace and crowds fought to catch a glimpse of him and 'Milady Emma' whose impact on European fashion was such that ladies even wore copies of the medal she wore for helping the people of Malta. But despite the parties and celebrations there was one thing that could not be avoided. As they progressed towards England a woman awaited them who had seen these events unfold from afar. Lady Nelson had seen the unforgiving satirical prints, the 'Nelson merchandise' that featured Emma as a fixture on his arm. Now she would get to meet her rival in person.

The tale of the love affair between Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton is one of the great true stories in history. In the first in a series of podcasts on this subject we discover that Nelson had been in love before - several times, and that his love for his wife was genuine. We learn of Emma incredibly impoverished childhood and her years of struggle in London, during which time she posed at a bizarre temple of health, was forced into prostitution to survive, was the mistress of a wild young aristocrat and was made to give up a child - before being cynically given away by another lover to his widowed uncle. This is a story filled with remarkable and startling detail, in which many of the myths about nelson and Emma are shown to be much less interesting than the truth.

Any maritime tale about the Napoleonic wars is likely to feature a frigate or a seventy four gun ship. In this episode we learn a host of fascinating facts about these two types of ships with some fascinating facts thrown in for good measure. Find out where the word 'nipper' comes from or why something might be referred to as 'copper bottomed'. There's stuff here for experts to argue about and newcomers to this subject will find themselves armed with a enough knowledge about these essential ships to really bring many seafaring yarns to life. Particular credit must got to the excellent book 'Life in Nelson's Navy' by Dudley Pope (Chatham Publishing)

Adam Preston looks at the qualities that make Nelson stand out as the foremost naval commander of his day - and one of the greatest naval commanders in all of history, by examining how he conducted himself during the great battles for which he is commemorated - and an almost completely forgotten engagement as well. If you want to know why Nelson stands quite so high on the his column in Trafalgar Square - this episode helps to explain it.