The Plimsoll Sensation
The story of a Victorian philanthropist who reformed shipping laws, saved thousands of sailors’ lives and became a national hero
‘A story of ambition, treachery, libel, political intrigue and cold-blooded murder on a mass scale’ Herald
‘Nicolette Jones charts Plimsoll’s course with skill, insight and elegance’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Splendid and meticulously researched’ Guardian
In the second half of the nineteenth century, an astonishing campaign stirred a nation to save the lives of the hundreds of British sailors who were drowning unnecessarily every year. Overladen and ill-repaired ships set sail, their doomed crews sacrificed while mercenary shipowners profited from the insurance. Samuel Plimsoll blew the whistle on these scandalous practices, devoting his life to a campaign for maritime reform. Plimsoll caught the public imagination: under his banner working men and women stood side by side with enlightened aristocrats and industrialists, their clamour almost toppling a prime minister.
‘A story of ambition, treachery, libel, political intrigue and cold-blooded murder on a mass scale’ Herald
‘Nicolette Jones charts Plimsoll’s course with skill, insight and elegance’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Splendid and meticulously researched’ Guardian
In the second half of the nineteenth century, an astonishing campaign stirred a nation to save the lives of the hundreds of British sailors who were drowning unnecessarily every year. Overladen and ill-repaired ships set sail, their doomed crews sacrificed while mercenary shipowners profited from the insurance. Samuel Plimsoll blew the whistle on these scandalous practices, devoting his life to a campaign for maritime reform. Plimsoll caught the public imagination: under his banner working men and women stood side by side with enlightened aristocrats and industrialists, their clamour almost toppling a prime minister.
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Reviews
A fine piece of work - fluently written, full of interesting things
Jones's strength lies in bringing to life the sailor's friend and the political climate in which he battled
Expertly tracked
A fascinating piece of social history
Jones is sure-footed, never allowing her empathy with her subject to blind her to his failings. Her comprehensive biography... will be the first port of call for all future researchers
Splendid and meticulously researched
An excellent, circumstantial biography that alerts us to how much still remains to be done in the cause of safety at sea
Excellent... Nicolette Jones charts Plimsoll's course with skill, insight and elegance
Jones clearly loves her subject... Her set-pieces mix sensitively and narrative gusto. Dickens would have delighted in this story
Excellently researched... a welcome reappraisal of one of Britain's long-forgotten heroes
A story of ambition, treachery, libel, political intrigue and cold-blooded murder on a mass scale... told in an engaging, witty, racy style
Jones's account is entirely worthy of its deserving subject... rehabilitates a man who remains a household name, but whose legion achievements have been forgotten