Chatto & Windus to publish Peter Moore’s ‘groundbreaking’ biography of naval hero Thomas Cochrane

Chatto & Windus, an imprint of Vintage, is set to to publish writer, journalist, historian and lecturer Peter Moore’s “groundbreaking” biography of naval hero Thomas Cochrane. Becky Hardie acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to A Life on the Edge: Thomas Cochrane, Hero, Radical, Revolutionary from Annabel Merullo of PFD, and Molly Slight will publish in her new role as editorial director. 

The new book on Cochrane, the inspiration behind swashbuckling fictional heroes Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower, will be published in August 2026.

The synopsis reads: “With groundbreaking new research from South American historians, unprecedented access to the Cochrane family archives and a keen eye on the politics and intellectual ideas of the day, Moore goes beyond the swashbuckling heroics to present Cochrane anew – examining what his life tells us about empire, the romantic hero and the power of the individual, and how we might see him differently with modern eyes.”

Moore said: “Cochrane is an astonishing and unique figure in British history. His restless, daring life tells us so much about the revolutionary age in which he lived. I am enormously grateful to his family who have let me work on his private papers and I am delighted that Chatto & Windus will be publishing the book.”

Slight said: “Peter Moore is one of the foremost historians of his generation, with extraordinary and imaginative books to his name that help us see the 18th and 19th centuries, in particular, in new and exciting ways. Thomas Cochrane is the perfect figure to turn to next. His life links the seafaring that Peter described so ingeniously in Endeavour with the political milieu of London and the history of ideas that he conjured in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Peter’s ability to read Spanish brings us closer to Cochrane’s life in Chile, and he has uncovered fascinating new material that makes this a superb and important biography that we’ll be very proud to publish.”