What Happens After Greatness? Reflections on Legacy and History

“What ifs” make a good teaser for the historian and the novelist – as well as for those recuperating from a too lively New Year’s Eve or simply trying to find the potential in 2026. As all of Jane Austen’s heroic characters confirmed, reflecting on the past is the best way to learn and position oneself for a brighter future.

What If - this never happened? Detail Death of Nelson by Arthur William Devis; with thanks to Royal Collections

A recent best seller, the detective thriller ‘Fatherland’, was based on the idea that somehow the Nazis had “won” the Second World War. The plot of the page-turner unwinds in 1964. I am about to read a Forsythe novel with a similar premise. They both follow in the footsteps of the more philosophical ‘The Man in the High Castle’ which was written and published in 1962 exploring the state of the world if the Allies had lost WW2.

I was at a lunch at the Australasian Pioneers Club which debated the contribution of Governor Phillip who led the first fleet into Sydney Cove and founded the colony which became Australia. People argued the Governor’s legacy and what he might think of Australia today.

Governor Phillip:  Glory or Doubt?

Arthur Phillip by Francis Wheatley 1786

Governor Phillip lived in Sydney for almost five years from 1788 to 1793 before returning to England for medical treatment. His services were recognised in 1796 by a knighthood in the order of Bath.  After recovering, he did not return to Sydney, instead being posted by the navy as a sea-going captain. The Revolutionary and later Napoleonic France war which began when he returned  in 1793 continued with a short break for the next twenty-two years. Governor Phillip had several appointments as a captain in the Home Fleet, his seniority steadily growing until he became a Rear Admiral and, late in life, after retirement an Admiral of the Blue. Among the positions he occupied were the command of three battleships and then posts in the Sea Fencibles, and, ultimately, the overall command of that service which was charged with the defence of the coast against invasion.

During this time in the Navy, he was known for his work establishing the settlement in Sydney, but the jury was out as to its success and he was neither celebrated nor condemned at the time. By all accounts it was a relatively ordinary life after an assignment with long lasting implications for the world.

A Little-known Friendship

Nelson was posted to the Mediterranean on HMS Agamemnon in 1793, the year Phillip returned and the two men knew each other. There is a record of Evan Nepean, the great naval administrator, hosting a dinner party in London in 1797 which included among others Governor Phillip. Sir Horatio Nelson, recovering from his wounds from the skirmish in Tenerife was there and Lord Keith, later Nelson’s commander in the Mediterranean.

Other sources mention that from 1797 onward the Phillips and the Nelsons were friends and socialised together in Bath. It is said that Fanny was staying in Bath with the Phillips in 1806 while Nelson’s funeral was taking place.

Would You Choose a Long Life or a Glorious Death?

Apart from the fact of their knowing each other and their friendship, I was fascinated by their careers after they had achieved the success for which they are known. After Sydney, Governor Phillips lived for a further 21 years of which twelve years were in the navy after his role in leading the First Fleet. Nelson on the other hand was cut down at the very moment of his greatest victory in October 1805. His death was consciously cultivated to into a national mythology, reinforcing British nationalism at critical moments.

So, what if?

There are some clues. When Nelson returned from the Battle of Copenhagen, he had several appointments before the Mediterranean command, none of which compared with his role as a fleet commander.

One of my favourite books is ‘First Light’, an account of a spitfire pilot who fought in the great battles for Britain in the early forties and was then removed from the line and given less hazardous duties. He concluded that he was fated to live the rest his life (a lengthy one) living in the knowledge that the greatest moments of his life had past and “normality” had to be embraced as well as endured.

So, it must have been for Governor Phillip whose fame and long-lasting reputation came as the Sydney settlement prospered and future historians were able to assess how much of its success was due to those five years when he was the leader.

Leaving a Legacy

“I have done my duty” declared Nelson on his death bed.” No regrets and perhaps given what the future may otherwise have held, a good way to end a glorious career. Both men have made major contributions. Nelson’s victory underwrote the success of the Australia project by perpetuating British control of the seas. The legacy of Governor Phillips is the Australia we have today.

If history had not given Nelson his heroic death, who would be on the column at the centre of Trafalgar Square?

And what about those in his orbit? Would Emma have been spared a paupers’ death? Would they have stayed together? Would Nelson have had a role in politics like the Duke of Wellington did? Would he have built a great house like Blenheim?

In the end, it is often what follows greatness, rather than the moment of greatness itself, that tells a more complete story.

May you enjoy both hindsight and foresight as you plan for 2026.

Thank you for continuing to accompany me on my historical author journey.

Happy New Year,

Oliver

To find out more about my novels and future book launches, sign up to ‘stay in touch’ on my author home page. My first novel in the trilogy, Nelson's Folly, is also available as an audiobook.