David Miller

David Miller has written widely on British military and maritime history, from naval warfare to military technology. Wreck of the Isabella reconstructs the loss of the British merchant brig Isabella in the Falkland Islands after it sailed from New South Wales in 1812. The survivors’ rescue became entangled with the war between Britain and the United States, especially after the arrival of the American sealer Nanina and a British naval vessel. Leo Cooper published Miller’s account in 1995, with a United States edition from Naval Institute Press. Drawing on journals, newspapers, and archival records, he follows the passengers, crew, and rescuers through abandonment, capture, and eventual return. Wreck of the Isabella works as narrative maritime history because Miller keeps the extraordinary sequence tied to documented people and decisions. Maps, illustrations, appendices, and sources support a story that also illuminates Anglo-American rivalry far from the war’s familiar theaters. It is a focused example of Miller’s long-standing interest in the sea.