Sons of the Waves

Sons of the Waves – The Common Seaman in the Heroic Age of Sail is Stephen’s eighth book and a return to the maritime theme that has run through his writing in recent years. It was published by Yale University Press in April 2020 and was awarded a certificate of merit in that year’s Mountbatten Maritime Awards for Best Book.

“Enthralling … This is maritime history but it is also social history of the highest
order … Taylor has brought the men themselves back to vivid and exhilarating life: he
stitches together the brutality and wonder of their lives with intelligence, judgement
and compassion.”
– Mathew Lyons, Literary Review

“An absorbing and original book … Taylor’s achievement is to recreate the character
of the men who established his country’s command of the ocean … The spirit of Jack
Tar is brilliantly delineated … Superb.”
– Ben Wilson, The Times

“Fascinating and satisfying … A kaleidoscope of individual personalities and
adventures”
– N.A.M. Rodger, London Review of Books

“The best introduction for the general reader to the lives of 18 th century British
seamen … Taylor has brought out the authentic, rarely heard voice of Jack Tar.”
– John B. Hattedorff, Times Literary Supplement

“A compelling account of the men who made modern Britain, one that supplants all
those that have gone before. Essential reading for sailors of the open ocean and the
armchair.”
– Andrew Lambert, BBC History Magazine

“Dramatic episodes – and Taylor’s book is full of them – are gripping to read and
fascinating in their particulars. More importantly, however, they are convincing
evidence that the power and wealth of Britain depended not only on its system of rule,
its natural resources and technology, but also, perhaps mainly, on the character, skills
and virtues of its people – Jack Tar foremost among them.”
– Ian Garrick-Mason, The Spectator

“Engrossing … suffused with a dark Dickensian melancholy.”
– Roger Lewis, Dail Mail, Book of the Week

“No other book resurrects the wooden world of Jack Tar in such captivating and
voluminous detail.”
– Roger Ekirch, Wall Street Journal

“Taylor is masterful, capturing moments or sensations in a way that few historians can
equal … Sons of the Waves will become a classic. Beautifully written and easy to
read, based on original, virtually unknown memoirs, it is filled with insights and
experiences of the common sailor that both confirm and defy modern assumptions.”
– Frederick C. Leiner, US Naval Institute History Magazine

“Taylor’s experience as a writer of maritime history is evident in his adroit crafting of
narrative, vivid portrayal of his characters and clear familiarity with his archival
sources.”
– Global Maritime History

“A vivid and engaging history from below which provides a rich and readable
demonstration of the way in which seafarers helped to shape our society.”
– Nautilus Telegraph

Naval history in the age of sail is full of the deeds of masters and commanders – officers like Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane – but has given little voice to plain, ‘illiterate’ seamen. Now, for the first time, Stephen presents these men in their own words.

Proud and spirited, learned in their own fashion, with robust opinions and the courage to challenge overweening authority, British sailors stand out from their less adventurous compatriots.

Drawing on published and unpublished memoirs, letters and naval records, including court martials and petitions, Stephen traces their progress as engines of national prosperity and expansion up to the Industrial Revolution.

For over a century, from exploring the South Seas with Cook to establishing the East India Company as a global corporation, from the sea battles that made Britain a superpower to the crisis of the 1797 mutinies, these ‘sons of the waves’ held the nation’s destiny in their calloused hands.

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