Worshipped as a national savior, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson masterminded the naval victories that thwarted Napoleon's plans to invade Britain. Yet, in the midst of public adulation, rumors swirled about his private life. Nelson took a friend's wife as a mistress and even fathered a child by her in secret. Starring Kenneth Colley (Monty Python's Life of Brian), Geraldine James (The Jewel in the Crown), and Tim Pigott-Smith (V for Vendetta), this lavish historical drama examines Nelson through the eyes of four people close to him: his wife, who feels bitter and betrayed but ultimately loving; his friend, who helplessly loses his wife to a hero; his captain, who admires Nelson's bold leadership but disdains his lifestyle; and an ordinary seaman, who turns to his commander for inspiration while facing death. What emerges is an unconventional portrait of a complex figure and a study in the effects of fame. Seen on Masterpiece Theatre.
Seasons & Episode
Nelson - already a hero after his defeat of the French at the Battle of the Nile -- returns to London in 1800 to the adulation of the public and the suspicions of his wife. Aware of rumors about her husband and Lady Hamilton, Lady Nelson feels her man and their marriage slipping away.
In 1798, with Naples beset by revolutionaries and threatened by the advancing French Army, British envoy Sir William Hamilton sees Nelson as the kingdom's only salvation. But the aging diplomat also observes his vivacious, much younger wife's obvious attraction to the admiral - as well as a distinctly ungentlemanly side to Nelson's character.
In 1805, Thomas Hardy - captain of Nelson's flagship, Victory - visits his commander's country estate to help plan a final blow to the French fleet. There, the straitlaced officer is shocked by Nelson's social-climbing new friends and vulgar new wife, precipitating a confrontation between the captain and his commander.
Twenty-one-year-old William Blackie had a choice: debtor's prison or the Royal Navy. Now, in October 1805, manning a cannon on the lower deck of the Victory, the young man and his mates prepare for the decisive Battle of Trafalgar and look to their commander for courage and inspiration.
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