Captain Bennett was, for many years, a serving officer in the Royal Navy as well as being one of the most highly regarded naval historians of his time. He sets the battle in the context of the world-wide struggle against Napoleon, describes the ships, their crews and the tactics of the action. In his scholarly but immensely readable account of the battle he discusses the preparatory manoeuvres and the mechanics of naval warfare in the age of sail. He illustrates the text with many diagrams.