Mercantile life in Victorian times
William Schaw Lindsay, by Bill Lindsay
Here we have a biography produced with great heart by the subject's great-great-grandson William Stewart Lindsay – who believes, understandably, that his 19th century ancestor William Schaw Lindsay (1815-1877) should be better known in merchant shipping circles.
Drawing on extensive private journals now housed in the UK National Maritime Museum, the story takes us through Schaw Lindsay's nine years at sea, his creation of a successful company with a fleet of 22 ships, and his time as a politician and author.
Meetings with Queen Victoria, Napoleon III and Abraham Lincoln are charted, and there are candid pen-portraits of various UK prime ministers.
The hardback contains a family tree and lots of useful appendices – including a list of ships Schaw Lindsay owned and a thorough bibliography.
William Schaw Lindsay: Victorian Entrepreneur
By Bill Lindsay
Amberley Publishing, £25.00
ISBN: 978 13981 15255
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
How to 'make it' in the superyacht industry
Superyacht Success, by Brendan O'ShannassyBack in 2022, we reviewed Brendan O'Shannassy's memoir Superyacht Captain. Now Capt O'Shannassy has returned with a new book that focuses on how crew can navigate their careers.
Love for seafaring conquers all
No Quitting, by Andrea BarkerAndrea Barker's memoir of her 1990s Merchant Navy cadetship tells of her eagerness and determination to follow the career pursued by generations of her family. Unfortunately, there were choppy waters ahead...
Radio revelry
Barques, Sparks and Sharks, by Len WilsonSeafarers are known for their story-telling abilities, and Orkney-born Len Wilson does not disappoint in this memoir of his years as a radio officer
Mastering our harbours
Harbours and Their Masters, by Mark Ashley-MillerNovice skipper Mark Ashley-Miller recently spent five years circumnavigating the UK and Ireland as a charity challenge – interviewing and photographing the harbour masters he met along the way.