Peter Goodwin is a British maritime historian and author, and the former Keeper and Curator of .

Biography

Peter Goodwin served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in nuclear submarines, qualifying as a marine engineer. Subsequently, he worked in

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as a consultant design engineer, before completing an

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

at the Institute of Maritime Studies, at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

. As an article by Haley Storey explains, "Peter's interest in 18th century ship construction began when he was just eight years old and, like many boys his age, he enjoyed putting together wooden models". Between 1991 and 2011, he was the Keeper and Curator of , HM Naval Base Portsmouth. He has written eight books on ship construction and Britain's maritime heritage, specialising in the career and ships of

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

. Goodwin "is widely acknowledged as one of the leading writers on the sailing warship". Of ''Nelson's Ships'' (2002), ''Nautical Magazine'' wrote "Superb description of life in the Georgian Navy… Compelling read recommended to everyone with an interest in naval history".Nautical Magazine, Sept 2008 Goodwin's ''Nelson’s Men O’War'' (2005), released to coincide with the bi-centenary of the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

, was written in conjunction with the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

. Goodwin has also acted as a historical consultant, most notably on the

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film, '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', inspired by Patrick O’Brian's series of Aubrey–Maturin novels, and the television adaptation of '' Hornblower'', in which he made a brief cameo.

Bibliography

* ''HMS Victory'' (2006) * ''The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets'', October 1805,

Conway Publishing Conway Publishing, formerly Conway Maritime Press, is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It is best known for its publications dealing with nautical subjects. History Conway Maritime Press was founded in 1972 as an independent publisher. Its or ...

(2005) * ''Nelson's Men O'War: The Illustrated Story of Life in Nelson's Navy'', Andre Deutsch Ltd (2005) * ''The Bomb Vessel Granado, 1742: Anatomy of the Ship'', Conway Publishing (2005) * ''Nelson's Victory: 101 Questions & Answers about HMS Victory, Nelson’s Flagship at Trafalgar 1805'',

Conway Maritime Press Conway Publishing, formerly Conway Maritime Press, is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It is best known for its publications dealing with nautical subjects. History Conway Maritime Press was founded in 1972 as an independent publisher. Its or ...

(2004) * ''Nelson's Ships: A Comprehensive History of the Ships in Which He Served, 1771–1805'', Stackpole Books (2002) * ''The Naval Cutter Alert, 1777: Anatomy of the Ship'', Conway Maritime Press (1991) * ''The 20-Gun Ship Blandford: Anatomy of the Ship'', Conway Maritime Press (1988) * ''The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of War 1650–1850'', Conway Maritime Press (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Peter Living people British non-fiction writers British curators Royal Navy submariners British naval historians Alumni of the University of St Andrews British male writers Year of birth missing (living people) British male non-fiction writers