The Age of Scurvy : How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Helped Britain Win the Battle of Trafalgar

The compelling account of how three men solved the greatest mystery of the seafaring age. Scurvy was responsible for more deaths at sea than war, piracy, storms and shipwreck combined. For centuries the scourge of the seas was treated with ineffective remedies – it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that citrus fruits became a mandatory part of the British Navy’s diet, turning its fortunes around. Set during the era of wooden ships and press gangs, The Age of Scurvy is an important book and a classic adventure story.