This original and thoroughly researched book is the first and only scholarly biography of Admiral Lord Howe who served in four wars, and who was not only a figure of major historical importance but also one of the great British admirals of the Age of Fighting Sail.

This book makes a unique contribution and fills a large gap in British naval history. Admiral Howe's adventures included: Serving as a midshipman in one of the ships on Anson's expedition to the South Seas. He carried out Pitt's raids on the French coast in the Seven Year's War and then led the British attack at Quiberon Bay. He sought to forestall the American Revolutionary War by negotiating with Benjamin Franklin.

In the first years of the American War he commanded the squadron in America and later conducted the Third Relief of Gibraltar (1783). He served as First Lord of the Admiralty in the government of the Younger Pitt. He commanded the Channel Fleet in the French Revolutionary War and defeated the French on the Glorious First of June.