The Man Who Shot Nelson: A French Take on Trafalgar

From a fake news report claiming a French victory to fictional memoirs and literary retellings, the Battle of Trafalgar’s legacy in France became shrouded in myth over the following years of the Nineteenth Century, particularly around the identity of the man who shot Nelson. In this 10-Minute Talk, Dr David McCallam recounts how the French responded to the crushing defeat in 1805 with satire and storytelling, offering a fascinating alternative perspective on a well-rehearsed historical event. Speaker: Dr David McCallam This podcast is for informative and educational purposes. 10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. This podcast was produced by Find out more about the British Academy: For future events, visit our website:

You can listen to The Man Who Shot Nelson: A French Take on Trafalgar online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Man Who Shot Nelson: A French Take on Trafalgar is an episode from 10-Minute Talks by The British Academy.

This episode is 11:58 long.

This episode was published on Jul 11, 2025.

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