Not much has escaped the vast industry of Nelson literature, which has riveted the nation for 200 years, from battles at sea to the boudoirs of Lady Hamilton. It is refreshing, therefore, to find a theme, never before dramatised, yet offering depth and vision in the history of the Napoleonic Wars.

Young Nelsons (Osprey, £17.99) is D. A.B. Ronald’s tribute to the midshipmen and lower-deck “boys” who helped to provide a brave and youthful spirit for the Royal Navy.

Nelson himself was one of them, having gone to sea at the age of 12. But others were even younger in an era when the gallows loomed large in penniless lives.

As for the midshipmen, there was a great deal of preferment, especially bestowed on young relatives by powerful figures in the Admiralty.

Ronald’s world of fighting sail embraces the heart of the Navy as seen through the eyes of youngsters who would grow up — if they survived such battles as Trafalgar and the Nile — to become the oceanic guardians of the nation.

With a foreword by Alexander Kent, whose fictional hero Richard Bolitho has followed the tradition of sea-bound “young gentlemen”, Ronald’s book is a vibrant account of the years Nelson spent defending Britain’s shores against France.

Not only does it carry a series of excellent illustrations, it probes life on deck and in the masts, the broadsides in the fury of battle and the “tough and dangerous” days that would lead to glory or tragedy in Nelson’s fleet.

A schoolmaster serving aboard the Mars in the tumult of Trafalgar would salute his young pupils with the epithet: “They fought like young Nelsons”.

If Napoleon failed to invade England, there was a precedent in the name of The Spanish Armada (Osprey, £20), the defence of the realm by Elizabeth’s “sea dogs” — Drake, Frobisher, Raleigh and Hawkins.

Angus Konstam is a prolific writer on the history of the sea and this richly illustrated book on the “great enterprise” must surely be one of his finest. Konstam defines the English victory as a “close run thing” which, had it failed, would have changed the course of European history and crushed the “golden age” of the Tudors.

The Spaniards had every reason to be successful with an invasion force of 55,000 veteran soldiers. Ultimately, it was the speed and gunnery skills of the Britiish commanders, their fireships and an unexpected storm that would destroy the armada. Every aspect of this engagement, including the formidable galleons, comes under Konstam’s roving eye in presenting a panorama of the classic battle and the men-of-war.

This beautiful book from the Oxford publisher Osprey deserves to grace the shelves of seaman and landsman alike.