author

W. D. (William Dallas) Bernard

1808–1866

Best known for vivid books on the First Opium War, this 19th-century British writer helped bring the voyages of the steamship Nemesis and the making of early Hong Kong to Victorian readers. His work blends eyewitness-style narrative, naval history, and travel writing.

1 Audiobook

Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 And of the Combined Naval and Military Operations in China: Comprising a Complete Account of the Colony of Hong-Kong and Remarks on the Character & Habits of the Chinese. Second Edition

Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 And of the Combined Naval and Military Operations in China: Comprising a Complete Account of the Colony of Hong-Kong and Remarks on the Character & Habits of the Chinese. Second Edition

by Sir W. H. (William Hutcheon) Hall, W. D. (William Dallas) Bernard

About the author

William Dallas Bernard (1808–1866) was a British physician and writer. Records from the Royal College of Physicians note that he studied at Wadham College, Oxford, taking degrees in 1828, 1832, and 1836, and they describe much of his later career as unclear.

He is remembered today mainly for books about the First Opium War, especially Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis, from 1840 to 1843 and The Nemesis in China, written with Sir William Hutcheon Hall. Those volumes gave readers detailed accounts of naval warfare in China, the operations of the steamship Nemesis, and the early British colony of Hong Kong.

Bernard's surviving public profile is fairly limited, but his books remain useful to readers interested in 19th-century imperial history, maritime conflict, and the way Britain described China for a Victorian audience.