Although all of Nelson's attention appeared to be fixed on Naples ithroughout the first half of 1799, as the senior naval officer within the Mediterranean basin he had many other concerns. In the east, Napoleon attempted to break the deadlock imposed by the victory at Aboukir by attacking Syria; but his advance was held up by the gallant defence of Acre, with British assistance under the command of Captain Sir Sydney Smith. In Malta, the British, assisted by the Maltese, attacked the French occupying forces and, having walled them up in the fortress city of Valetta, began a long-drawn-out siege. And, in the western basin a combined force under Commodore John Duckworth captured the Spanish island of Minorca, with its fine naval base of Port Mahon, in November 1798.

All these operations are reflected in Nelson's correspondence, together with the usual piles of paperwork concerning the daily running of his fleet. Even when Lord Keith, who, in St Vincent's absence on sick leave was acting as commander-in-chief, brought the main fleet into Mediterranean in May 1799, Nelson still remained at the centre of affairs.

The new material printed in this section has been drawn together from various sources to reflect the wide range of matters with which Nelson dealt. Most important is the new ‘run’ of letters to Brigadier General Graham, one of the senior army commanders in the theatre, taken from transcriptions located in the Lynedoch papers in the National Library of Scotland. Although mainly concerned with the operations in Malta, the letters also include reflections on the wider campaign, and on personalities both at home and in the Mediterranean. So they provide an interesting running commentary on the events of this period, seen through Nelson's eyes. Writing to a professional colleague and equal, he clearly feels able to be fairly open and frank in his views on events and people: such as his remark about the Duke of Grafton, one of the key figures of the British opposition: ‘I wish he would take a little poison it would be a great service to his Country’ (269). He seems not to have realised that Graham was a supporter of Grafton's Whigs.