THE DEVIL HIMSELF: THE MUTINY OF 1800. de Pope, Dudley - 1987

London: Alison Press/Secker & Warburg, 1987. 186 pp, 9 1/4" H. Maps. "The corvette 'La Vaillante' was built in Bayonne in 1796, four years after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1798, she was captured by Captain Sir Edward Pellew, renamed the 'Danae' and given a new young captain, Lord Proby. In March 1800, there was consternation in London when The Times reported the French recapture of the 'Danae' following a mutiny among her crew. Dudley Pope has pieced together the story of the mutiny from British documents and the French naval archives at Brest, where the file is labelled 'Le Diable Lui-meme' - The Devil Himself. How did the French regain possession of their captured corvette? Why did some of Lord Proby's crew risk hanging by staging a mutiny? What happened to the captain after the French took him prisoner? What became of the guilty men? What was the role of the Americans on board the ship? The whole curious story is told by an expert on the naval history of those brutal years." Previous owner's info. stamped on front endpapers, small red ink notation written at top corner of free front endpaper, very minor soiling to edges of textblock. Dust jacket has minor edgewear, light edge wrinkling, light rubbing. Very light wrinkling at top of spine, tiny dent on bottom of text block. Dust jacket is price-clipped, has light wrinkling at top of spine.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good+.