20 MAY 1955, Page 32

PRESUMABLY the only reason why Messrs. Methuen have decided to

add to the already swollen list of Nelson biographies is that they could hardly leave him out of their Story Biography series, the lives of famous people. It would seem that this series is designed for the younger reader, and that, perhaps, is why the name of Emma Hamilton is not mentioned. Miss Plowman has nothing new to say, but she retells the famous story with enthusiasm and freshness. She has wisely included all the better-known anecdotes, though it was a pity to fictionalise Midshipman Elliot's account of the preliminaries to the Battle of the Nile. Miss Plowman is well qualified to write for a wider audience, and one hopes that for her next book she will choose a less familiar subject.

LUDOVIC KENNEDY