Gibraltar

January 1, 2018
The husband-and-wife historian team once again exhibit their talent for enlivening British history.This time, the Adkins writing team (Jane Austen's England, 2013, etc.) looks at the 1779-1783 siege of Gibraltar, which, at three years and seven months, was the longest siege in British history and played a significant role in the success of the American Revolution. As America's ally, France declared war on England and enlisted Spain to join them in attempting an invasion of Britain. After that plan failed, the next step was to take the most strategic spot in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar. Protecting the rock and rebuffing convoy attempts to resupply it took thousands of men, ships, and armaments desperately needed across the Atlantic. Many of those convoys never made it to Gibraltar, intercepted by Spanish or French fleets. As English Adm. George Darby initiated a relief convoy, it enabled the French commander to slip away and arrive in time to be the deciding factor in the capitulation at Yorktown. Many readers will wonder why this episode hasn't been made into a movie, with all the heroics of soldiers, civilians, and, especially, families. Thankfully, the authors had a vast trove of letters and diaries of those who lived through the siege, and they use them to great effect. The most telling is that of the wife of Gibraltar's chief engineer, William Green. She describes what might be called the phony war, as Spain tried to starve out the garrison and engaged in near-incessant bombardment. They paused only briefly each afternoon, for siesta. The inhabitants of Gibraltar fought hunger, typhus, and smallpox in addition to abject fear. During the seemingly interminable siege, both sides came up with new and deadly inventions: English exploding shells, a forerunner of shrapnel, gunboats, and French floating batteries. Equally notable is one of the most famous sorties in military history.The story is as compelling as it is fantastic--page-turning history of one of the most important eras of Western civilization.

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February 19, 2018
The Adkinses (Jane Austen’s England) offer an alternative to the repetitive accounts of field operations that often dominate military histories of the 18th century: a page-turning tale of one of the era’s longest and most significant sieges, described from the perspective of those who lived through it and situated in wider military and diplomatic contexts. Gibraltar, a small territory at the bottom of the Iberian peninsula that’s considered the key to the western Mediterranean, had been in British hands since 1704. Spain attempted to retake it during the American Revolution; in June 1779, the Great Siege began. As the noose around Gibraltar tightened over the next three and a half years, sicknesses and shortages overshadowed battle and bombardment. A particular strength of this work is its domestic dimension; the besieged had ample time to write, and to air fears and grievances. The authors use primary accounts to bring to life the experience of Gibraltar’s residents, including the roughly 1,500 wives and children of soldiers who lived there, and demonstrate that Gibraltar’s defense depended more on endurance than heroics. Specialists may find little new material, but this well organized, fast-paced book is a worthwhile addition to the literature on a still-neglected subject. Agent: Kate Hibbert.

March 1, 2018

While the War of Independence raged in America, an equally fierce conflict occurred on a tiny British territory south of the Iberian Peninsula: Gibraltar. Seizing the chance to regain lost territory in Europe and disrupt Britain's control of the Mediterranean Sea, allied French and Spanish forces blockaded Gibraltar's sea routes and gathered an army for an attack on the island's British garrison. Cut off from easy sources of relief, the garrison's residents endured starvation, scurvy, and outbreaks of disease during a siege that lasted from June 1779 to February 1783. Coauthors Roy and Lesley Adkins (Jane Austen's England) have centered their focus on the British side, drawing heavily on primary sources and providing a meticulous look at the military and civilian experiences of what became known as the Great Siege of Gibraltar--the longest siege ever endured by British forces. VERDICT Voluminous details sometimes slow down the pace of the narrative, but readers interested this oft-overlooked facet of the American Revolutionary War will likely appreciate the thoroughness.--Kathleen McCallister, Tulane Univ., New Orleans

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