Losing Nelson by Barry Unsworth

Barry Unsworth’s novel of hero-worship, delusion, naval history, and critical thinking brilliantly portrays the blurring of reality with fantasy as narrator Charles Cleasby drowns in research.

Charles is the ultimate nerd. He collects creepy Nelson memorabilia, re-enacts sea battles to the minute, and is writing the definitive biography of hi hero Horatio Nelson. Charles identifies with Nelson so closely he refers to him as ‘I’ and ‘we’, giving a dark edge to the psychological drama.

The foil to all the fandom is Miss Lily, Charles’s secretary, whose uninvited questions and comments send Charles into a tailspin.

“I had no idea what she meant by this, but I could not escape the feeling that she was getting the upper hand in this discussion.”

Though the naval history is occasionally dry, I enjoyed Losing Nelson tremendously and the ending kept me reading past midnight. Unsworth is certainly one of my big discoveries this year.

Losing Nelson was published in 1999.