July 1866, the Austrian Imperial Navy races into action for a day that goes down in naval history. 150 years ago this month, it is the first warfare between ironclads, triumph although outgunned and outnumbered, ramming as a winning tactic, influence on warship design for 50 years… and Ephraim M Epstein was there.

Behind the scenes of the biographical novel, click here for a NEW page giving a non-fiction account of this famous event.