This Trafalgar Day (21 October), Sotheby’s is set to unveil the greatest collection of letters and documents relating to Vice-Admiral Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) in private hands today. The offering includes letters that shed light on Nelson's character and public persona, alongside those that reveal his innermost personal struggles and endurance - whether he is recounting his victories, calling his comrades to arms, or pursuing the painful undertaking of learning to write with his left hand after the loss of his right arm in battle. There is also a trove of letters to and from his lover Emma Hamilton, with which the reader gains the most intimate picture of Nelson, as the depth of his longing for Hamilton is palpable across the pages. “This collection provides an extraordinarily rich and complex portrait of one of the most compelling figures in British history, whose extraordinary life has inspired generations and whose mastery of naval warfare played an outsize rol
Artdaily
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