"The battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, in which the British fleet routed French and Spanish ships off the coast of Spain, marked the final defeat of Napoleon's plot to invade Britain - and made Nelson his nation's greatest hero, even though it cost him his life. This book brings together first-hand accounts of the lead-up to battle, the horrors of the conflict and its aftermath. It is a story told through the letters, diaries and some previously unpublished documents of the people who witnessed it, from Nelson and his officers to the crews from both sides.