What do you think?
Rate this book
Wellington #2
Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852
Wellington’s momentous victory over Napoleon was the culminating point of a brilliant military career. Yet Wellington’s achievements were far from over: he commanded the allied army of occupation in France to the end of 1818, returned home to a seat in Lord Liverpool’s cabinet, and became prime minister in 1828. He later served as a senior minister in Peel’s government and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Army for a decade until his death in 1852.
In this richly detailed work, the second and concluding volume of Rory Muir’s definitive biography, the author offers a substantial reassessment of Wellington’s significance as a politician and a nuanced view of the private man behind the legend of the selfless hero. Muir presents new insights into Wellington’s determination to keep peace at home and abroad, achieved by maintaining good relations with the Continental powers and resisting radical agitation while granting political equality to the Catholics in Ireland rather than risk civil war. And countering one-dimensional pictures of Wellington as a national hero, Muir paints a portrait of a well-rounded man whose austere demeanor on the public stage belied his entertaining, gossipy, generous, and unpretentious private self.
In this richly detailed work, the second and concluding volume of Rory Muir’s definitive biography, the author offers a substantial reassessment of Wellington’s significance as a politician and a nuanced view of the private man behind the legend of the selfless hero. Muir presents new insights into Wellington’s determination to keep peace at home and abroad, achieved by maintaining good relations with the Continental powers and resisting radical agitation while granting political equality to the Catholics in Ireland rather than risk civil war. And countering one-dimensional pictures of Wellington as a national hero, Muir paints a portrait of a well-rounded man whose austere demeanor on the public stage belied his entertaining, gossipy, generous, and unpretentious private self.
728 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2015
55 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
About the author
Rory Muir
14 books32 followersRory Muir is a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide and a renowned expert on British history. His books include Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon and his two-part biography of Wellington, which won the SAHR Templer Medal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 30, 2025
Remember Him
Wellington: Waterloo, and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852 is the second of Rory Muir’s two part biography of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The book is excellent and is an extraordinary exploration of one of the most remarkable figures in British military and political history. This detailed biography of Wellington offers readers a vivid narrative of his life from the climactic Battle of Waterloo to his later years as a statesman during a period of profound political and social change.
Muir captures the brilliance of Wellington’s leadership at Waterloo with exceptional clarity. The battle itself is meticulously reconstructed, with the author balancing vivid descriptions of the chaos of war and insightful analyses of Wellington’s strategy. However, the book does not end with the battlefield; instead, it delves into the duke’s postwar career and his challenges in navigating the complexities of peace.
Wellington’s transition from military hero to political leader is a key focus of the book. Muir does an excellent job portraying the duke as a pragmatic yet sometimes inflexible figure in a rapidly changing world. As prime minister and elder statesman, Wellington’s struggles with the Reform Act 1832, Catholic Emancipation (Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829), and other critical issues highlight his limitations and strengths as a politician. Most importantly in this book, Muir shows the context of rhetoric time and the reasonableness of Wellington’s thought process. He attempts to undo 170 or so years of liberal historical narrative, which has made Wellington look stiff and inflexible to change. For example, he and Peel both new the Catholic Emancipation would not solve the real problems faced by Ireland and likewise saw the Reform Act as a shameless attempt to grab more power by the liberals disrupting a highly successful and stable political system. Muir does not say Wellington is right, but simply presents Wellington’s viewpoint.
What sets Muir apart is his ability to humanise his subject. Wellington is not merely the stoic soldier or the unyielding conservative; Muir also reveals his vulnerabilities, personal relationships, and private thoughts. For example, his complicated relationship with his wife Kitty, his two sons Arthur and Charles and dear friends such as Harriet Arbuthnot. His political and professional relationships, for example with his brother Marquess Wellesley or others such Sir Robert Peel, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool and George Canning are also deeply explored. The book draws extensively from primary sources, offering an authentic glimpse into Wellington’s world.
Muir’s writing is both accessible and scholarly, making the book appealing to both general readers and academic audiences. His narrative is engaging without sacrificing depth, and his insights into the broader European context add richness to the story. While comprehensive, the book occasionally lingers too long on minutiae, which might deter readers seeking a faster-paced narrative. Additionally, those hoping for a critical reassessment of Wellington’s legacy might find Muir’s admiration for his subject somewhat limiting, though the portrayal is balanced overall. I didn’t find this on either points, the book is a great length as others such as Richard Holmes’ Wellington are far too short for my tastes. A small criticism for me however, is that his horse Copenhagen isn’t mentioned once!
In conclusion, Wellington: Waterloo, and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852 is an authoritative and compelling biography that offers fresh perspectives on the Duke of Wellington’s life after Waterloo. It illuminates the complexities of a man who shaped history both on the battlefield and in the corridors of power. For anyone interested in Wellington, the Napoleonic era, or the turbulent transition from war to peace in 19th-century Europe, this book is a must-read.
Wellington: Waterloo, and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852 is the second of Rory Muir’s two part biography of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The book is excellent and is an extraordinary exploration of one of the most remarkable figures in British military and political history. This detailed biography of Wellington offers readers a vivid narrative of his life from the climactic Battle of Waterloo to his later years as a statesman during a period of profound political and social change.
Muir captures the brilliance of Wellington’s leadership at Waterloo with exceptional clarity. The battle itself is meticulously reconstructed, with the author balancing vivid descriptions of the chaos of war and insightful analyses of Wellington’s strategy. However, the book does not end with the battlefield; instead, it delves into the duke’s postwar career and his challenges in navigating the complexities of peace.
Wellington’s transition from military hero to political leader is a key focus of the book. Muir does an excellent job portraying the duke as a pragmatic yet sometimes inflexible figure in a rapidly changing world. As prime minister and elder statesman, Wellington’s struggles with the Reform Act 1832, Catholic Emancipation (Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829), and other critical issues highlight his limitations and strengths as a politician. Most importantly in this book, Muir shows the context of rhetoric time and the reasonableness of Wellington’s thought process. He attempts to undo 170 or so years of liberal historical narrative, which has made Wellington look stiff and inflexible to change. For example, he and Peel both new the Catholic Emancipation would not solve the real problems faced by Ireland and likewise saw the Reform Act as a shameless attempt to grab more power by the liberals disrupting a highly successful and stable political system. Muir does not say Wellington is right, but simply presents Wellington’s viewpoint.
What sets Muir apart is his ability to humanise his subject. Wellington is not merely the stoic soldier or the unyielding conservative; Muir also reveals his vulnerabilities, personal relationships, and private thoughts. For example, his complicated relationship with his wife Kitty, his two sons Arthur and Charles and dear friends such as Harriet Arbuthnot. His political and professional relationships, for example with his brother Marquess Wellesley or others such Sir Robert Peel, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool and George Canning are also deeply explored. The book draws extensively from primary sources, offering an authentic glimpse into Wellington’s world.
Muir’s writing is both accessible and scholarly, making the book appealing to both general readers and academic audiences. His narrative is engaging without sacrificing depth, and his insights into the broader European context add richness to the story. While comprehensive, the book occasionally lingers too long on minutiae, which might deter readers seeking a faster-paced narrative. Additionally, those hoping for a critical reassessment of Wellington’s legacy might find Muir’s admiration for his subject somewhat limiting, though the portrayal is balanced overall. I didn’t find this on either points, the book is a great length as others such as Richard Holmes’ Wellington are far too short for my tastes. A small criticism for me however, is that his horse Copenhagen isn’t mentioned once!
In conclusion, Wellington: Waterloo, and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852 is an authoritative and compelling biography that offers fresh perspectives on the Duke of Wellington’s life after Waterloo. It illuminates the complexities of a man who shaped history both on the battlefield and in the corridors of power. For anyone interested in Wellington, the Napoleonic era, or the turbulent transition from war to peace in 19th-century Europe, this book is a must-read.
April 3, 2024
This was the second and concluding volume of Arthur Wellesly, the 1st Duke of Wellington. It picks up where Rory Muir left off with the first book. This started in 1815 and the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. After that, until his death on 1852, Duke Wellington had a large life in politics as Prime Minister and in the military as England's Commander in Chief of its armed forces.
Throughout his life the greater part of Wellington's energy, passion, and attention were always devoted to his official work, whether as a soldier, diplomat, or politician. His appetite for business was remarkable and he had an immense capacity for sustained work. He wad always eager to be employed, even in tasks that required a good deal of drudgery or that he found otherwise suited his talents, and even more that the war gave him the opportunity to exercise them until he obtained unequalled pre-eminence. He then became the only British general since Cromwell to become head of the government; and the only prime minister to have achieved such fame in another field. He succeeded because he had a highly developed sense of what was practical, and a mastery of detail; because he examined complicated problems with great coolness, and was ingenious in finding solutions; because he had great confidence in his own judgment, and great courage in taking necessary risks, and never shirked responsibility; because he did not allow his wishes to distort his perceptions; which he had a well-deserved reputation for integrity and magnanimity which led even his opponents to respect and admire him; and because he was highly intelligent, articulate amd full of immense energy. pg 585Overall both of these volumes painted an enormous picture of the Duke of Wellington with countless hours of research and review from other scholarly works. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Napoleonic era and post-Napoleonic European history. Thanks!
October 14, 2017
The second volume of Rory Muir's magnificent biography of the Iron Duke covers the Waterloo campaign and Wellington's long political career. We tend to think of him as a soldier, yet Wellington was an Irish MP before he had ever heard a shot fired in anger, and he left the office of Commander in Chief of the British army three times to fill political posts, including that of Prime Minister (1828 - 30). He was basically a Tory who believed in effective government over rigid ideological principles, and he could live with the opposition when it carried out that type of government. As a peer, he had the luxury of not having to face elections for the House of Commons, and so he had no need to play the populist. He was also a principled and likable human being, the sort of man with whom I'd like to dine.
July 16, 2018
Rory Muir's Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852 fully lives up to the wonderful first volume of his massive biography of Arthur Wellsley, Duke of Wellington. The two volumes together are a tour de force and will, I believe, be seen as the definitive biography of Wellington for many, many years to come.
First, Muir's research is impeccable and copious (This is certainly a piece of understatement on my part.) In fact, Muir has created a Wellington database that is available online to catalog all the research he did but could not use in the book because it would have been 10 volumes instead of two. In some ways I think it would be as difficult to cull research to an appropriate level when writing on a topic that is documented heavily (and probably it would be safe to describe the documentation of Wellington’s life as overwhelming) as it would be to write on a topic that is under documented. Muir tackled this monumental task with wonderful balance, maintaining thoroughness without overwhelming the reader.
Muir approaches Wellington with an objective perspective. As the social and political culture of Great Britain skewed to the left, historians painted Wellington as a military genius that was a true cultural reactionary without much political talent. Muir provides a more balanced approach to the political and social aspects of Wellington’s life. Muir’s judgements of Wellington are based in the cultural norms of his time not our own. I firmly believe that to judge a historical personage on the basis of a later moral evolution (or possibly a later moral disintegration depending on one’s perspective) treats the historical person with great injustice. Muir avoids this trap by looking at Wellington in Wellington's own context. This is one of my major criteria for judging the value of an academic biography. Muir’s work in this regard is superb.
I am so taken with the way Muir told the story of the second half of Wellington’s life. Parts of the book are very intimate, for example Wellington’s close friendship with Lady Arbuthnot, his late-in-life romance with Angela Burdett-Coutts, and his lack of parenting skills. Other parts of the biography are more distant from Wellington’s direct interaction, but understanding the events (usually cultural or social in nature) described in these parts is essential to understand Wellington’s opinions and roles in the political events of during his life. The intimate details and the broad stroke narratives flow smoothly, intertwining to give a vivid and complete exploration of Wellington’s life. Muir has done a magnificent job.
One particularly fascinating aspect of Muir’s biography is his periodic descriptions and analyses of caricatures and portraits of Wellington. Muir uses these artistic objects to explore everything from Wellington’s personality to public perception of him at specific times in his life. I was fascinated when these discussions appeared in the text. Many of the paintings and drawing are included in the plates. I loved this part of the book.
One of the best biographies I have ever read. It is right up there with Manchester’s The Last Lion, McCullough’s John Adams, and Smith’s Eisenhower.
First, Muir's research is impeccable and copious (This is certainly a piece of understatement on my part.) In fact, Muir has created a Wellington database that is available online to catalog all the research he did but could not use in the book because it would have been 10 volumes instead of two. In some ways I think it would be as difficult to cull research to an appropriate level when writing on a topic that is documented heavily (and probably it would be safe to describe the documentation of Wellington’s life as overwhelming) as it would be to write on a topic that is under documented. Muir tackled this monumental task with wonderful balance, maintaining thoroughness without overwhelming the reader.
Muir approaches Wellington with an objective perspective. As the social and political culture of Great Britain skewed to the left, historians painted Wellington as a military genius that was a true cultural reactionary without much political talent. Muir provides a more balanced approach to the political and social aspects of Wellington’s life. Muir’s judgements of Wellington are based in the cultural norms of his time not our own. I firmly believe that to judge a historical personage on the basis of a later moral evolution (or possibly a later moral disintegration depending on one’s perspective) treats the historical person with great injustice. Muir avoids this trap by looking at Wellington in Wellington's own context. This is one of my major criteria for judging the value of an academic biography. Muir’s work in this regard is superb.
I am so taken with the way Muir told the story of the second half of Wellington’s life. Parts of the book are very intimate, for example Wellington’s close friendship with Lady Arbuthnot, his late-in-life romance with Angela Burdett-Coutts, and his lack of parenting skills. Other parts of the biography are more distant from Wellington’s direct interaction, but understanding the events (usually cultural or social in nature) described in these parts is essential to understand Wellington’s opinions and roles in the political events of during his life. The intimate details and the broad stroke narratives flow smoothly, intertwining to give a vivid and complete exploration of Wellington’s life. Muir has done a magnificent job.
One particularly fascinating aspect of Muir’s biography is his periodic descriptions and analyses of caricatures and portraits of Wellington. Muir uses these artistic objects to explore everything from Wellington’s personality to public perception of him at specific times in his life. I was fascinated when these discussions appeared in the text. Many of the paintings and drawing are included in the plates. I loved this part of the book.
One of the best biographies I have ever read. It is right up there with Manchester’s The Last Lion, McCullough’s John Adams, and Smith’s Eisenhower.
July 19, 2020
A marvelous, lively, book. I had thoroughly enjoyed the first volume, and was expecting the second to be a bit tedious after Waterloo, but Muir's portrait of Wellington's political and lively social life, active till the very end, was tremendously compelling. The Duke comes through crystal clear in the voluminous excerpts of his correspondence with friends, and by the time he passed away I felt like I was losing an old pal. A wonderful book.
September 3, 2018
This is a detailed and broadly sympathetic account of Wellington's career from the period between Napoleon's first abdication and Wellington's death. Interestingly it does not make the cut-off as the battle of Waterloo but includes that as the start of how Muir treats the second part of Wellington's career.
I enjoyed the detail, the narrative flow and the use of personal accounts to add colour to the text. However I did miss the element of critical analysis throughout the recounting of Wellington's career. True, there is a fair and reasonable concluding chapter which seeks to assess the career overall - and this argues that there were more positive features to Wellington's post-Waterloo/political career than had been considered by contemporaries and later historians. However this view would have been more convincingly demonstrated had it been argued at each stage in the preceding account.
Nonetheless, this is an important and probably necessary contribution to the picture of "The Iron Duke" and recommended for this reason for students of early nineteenth century British policital history.
I enjoyed the detail, the narrative flow and the use of personal accounts to add colour to the text. However I did miss the element of critical analysis throughout the recounting of Wellington's career. True, there is a fair and reasonable concluding chapter which seeks to assess the career overall - and this argues that there were more positive features to Wellington's post-Waterloo/political career than had been considered by contemporaries and later historians. However this view would have been more convincingly demonstrated had it been argued at each stage in the preceding account.
Nonetheless, this is an important and probably necessary contribution to the picture of "The Iron Duke" and recommended for this reason for students of early nineteenth century British policital history.
October 30, 2018
Everything you need to know about the Duke of Wellington but were afraid to ask. An amazing account of Wellington's later years starting with the battle of Waterloo, his time in Parliament, and continuing to his death in 1852. As a young fellow it was felt that Arthur Wellesley would be remembered for his beautiful violin playing, but Muir's 585 page book will prove that idea wrong!! A great book for any history lover!!
Reviewed by Kendel, Sr. Page.
Find it at the library, here.
Reviewed by Kendel, Sr. Page.
Find it at the library, here.
August 9, 2022
In terms of scholarship and writing quality, volume two of Rory Muir's epic Wellington is on a par with volume one, and therefore a five star affair. However, I'm not convinced by his stated reasons for his choice to split the book in two before Waterloo. And, although I do find some of the post Waterloo stuff interesting, by and large it's nowhere near as compelling to me as the stuff that leads up to and includes Wellington's role as Napoleon's most effective adversary.
At the time of starting to write this review I was with Muir/Wellington in post-Waterloo occupied France. And, with the sound of the cannon of Waterloo ringing in ones ears, it's still interesting, if not quite as exciting as events up to and including June 18th, 1815. Muir has already mentioned a monument to the fallen of Waterloo that was never actually built; I wonder what coverage there might be of Capt. Siborne's travails, and Wellington's role in relation to the latter's researches, and his famous Waterloo dioramas?
———————-
Well… I stopped reading this book for a while, and the review got put on hold as well. So, to pick up again: it’s now some time later, and I'm really struggling to keep up sufficient interest in a book, in which for much of the recent narrative, e.g. about the trials, literally and metaphorically, of the government with the king and his wife, Caroline, Wellington is more or less a peripheral figure. Albeit an admittedly important and influential one. Consequently chunks of the book read more like a general history of the period, than anything specifically Wellingtonian.
Some of the topics covered, such as the Catholic Emancipation business are, I suppose, of historic interest. Although as a rational materialist I find all this religious tomfoolery worse than tiresome. And even then, to the degree in which I am interested, I'm more inclined towards enjoying the caricatures printed in the contemporary satirical print trade (e.g. ‘Wellington & Peel attack Mrs Constitution, letting Popery in the back door’), than to trudging through the arcana that Muir sedulously covers.
I admire Muir's obvious passion for his subject, and the amount of work he's done. And even more, perhaps, how he shares the fruits of his labours not only in commercial book form, but via his website. And he obviously and unquestionably has great skill and flair as a writer. But none of this, alas, changes the fact that for me, Wellington is most interesting in relation to Napoleon. Once Napoleon disappears from the picture, it all feels a bit mundane.
Whilst this book and the first volume help add depth and nuance to my understanding of Wellington, and show him to be above all a practical man, nevertheless, they don't fundamentally change the view I already had, which is that in the long run I'm on the side of 'enlightenment' - not, I must make clear, with violent revolution (I'd say I'm more conservative in some ways than most capital C Conservatives) - but I do agree with Paine that 'monarchy ... is the popery of government'.
Wellington, for all his pragmatism, wasn't a fan of enlightenment thinking. He was emphatically a church and king man, and I'm most definitely neither. So, whilst I have yet to finish volume two, and can't therefore give a full and complete judgement, as things stand: I found volume one intensely enjoyable, and essential reading. Aside from Waterloo and the immediate aftermath, I find volume two significantly less interesting or compelling, and therefore certainly not essential reading. Unless, perhaps, you're a Wellington nut?
I'm not. So I'm far from certain as to whether I'll be willing to invest the time to actually finish this book, as excellent as it may be.
At the time of starting to write this review I was with Muir/Wellington in post-Waterloo occupied France. And, with the sound of the cannon of Waterloo ringing in ones ears, it's still interesting, if not quite as exciting as events up to and including June 18th, 1815. Muir has already mentioned a monument to the fallen of Waterloo that was never actually built; I wonder what coverage there might be of Capt. Siborne's travails, and Wellington's role in relation to the latter's researches, and his famous Waterloo dioramas?
———————-
Well… I stopped reading this book for a while, and the review got put on hold as well. So, to pick up again: it’s now some time later, and I'm really struggling to keep up sufficient interest in a book, in which for much of the recent narrative, e.g. about the trials, literally and metaphorically, of the government with the king and his wife, Caroline, Wellington is more or less a peripheral figure. Albeit an admittedly important and influential one. Consequently chunks of the book read more like a general history of the period, than anything specifically Wellingtonian.
Some of the topics covered, such as the Catholic Emancipation business are, I suppose, of historic interest. Although as a rational materialist I find all this religious tomfoolery worse than tiresome. And even then, to the degree in which I am interested, I'm more inclined towards enjoying the caricatures printed in the contemporary satirical print trade (e.g. ‘Wellington & Peel attack Mrs Constitution, letting Popery in the back door’), than to trudging through the arcana that Muir sedulously covers.
I admire Muir's obvious passion for his subject, and the amount of work he's done. And even more, perhaps, how he shares the fruits of his labours not only in commercial book form, but via his website. And he obviously and unquestionably has great skill and flair as a writer. But none of this, alas, changes the fact that for me, Wellington is most interesting in relation to Napoleon. Once Napoleon disappears from the picture, it all feels a bit mundane.
Whilst this book and the first volume help add depth and nuance to my understanding of Wellington, and show him to be above all a practical man, nevertheless, they don't fundamentally change the view I already had, which is that in the long run I'm on the side of 'enlightenment' - not, I must make clear, with violent revolution (I'd say I'm more conservative in some ways than most capital C Conservatives) - but I do agree with Paine that 'monarchy ... is the popery of government'.
Wellington, for all his pragmatism, wasn't a fan of enlightenment thinking. He was emphatically a church and king man, and I'm most definitely neither. So, whilst I have yet to finish volume two, and can't therefore give a full and complete judgement, as things stand: I found volume one intensely enjoyable, and essential reading. Aside from Waterloo and the immediate aftermath, I find volume two significantly less interesting or compelling, and therefore certainly not essential reading. Unless, perhaps, you're a Wellington nut?
I'm not. So I'm far from certain as to whether I'll be willing to invest the time to actually finish this book, as excellent as it may be.
January 8, 2024
It took a long time to finish this book, partially because I read non-fiction slowly anyway and partially because I am mainly interested in Wellington's tactics as a general. Once the chapter on Waterloo was finished, I plodded through the political years. It was interesting in that it shows that Wellington is not as bad as history has painted him at politics. He kept to his own party lines for the most part but willingly worked with other parties if he felt that it was needed for the good of King and Queen and the country, which opened him up to attack from almost all the parties and resulted in a lot of bad press. I latched onto this in particular since we are now seeing in America the harm that can be done by following strict party lines and putting the party ahead of the country. Which is why the founding fathers of this country had hoped that we would not have the same two-party system that the English have been suffering under for generations. That only lasted until Jefferson. Not long at all. So much for politics.
The end of the book was outstanding. Wellington spent his last ten years at the Horse Guards where his military acumen came back into sway. His funeral was incredibly moving, and the conclusion was a masterful summing up of a life that was remarkable in every way, even given his mistakes which are noted here.
The end of the book was outstanding. Wellington spent his last ten years at the Horse Guards where his military acumen came back into sway. His funeral was incredibly moving, and the conclusion was a masterful summing up of a life that was remarkable in every way, even given his mistakes which are noted here.
September 1, 2025
This is able to stand alone just fine. It seems to be the second in a series, but I came upon it first. Who was Napoleon fighting against from Britain? Here is the answer.
I remember drawing something like the Waterloo Gallery, which is one of the pictures in the middle. It is difficult to make a drawing just like it, and if your perspective work is not just right, you can make your audience dizzy, too, but #32 must be a photo, or I'll eat my hat!
...
Well, right now I don't often wear hats, since I regard that my long hair shields my ears well enough.
Anyway, my initial interest in military history dates back to Caesar and the Romans, but here Rory Muir describes Wellington in an all-encompassing biography that puts you back at least 173 years.
Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814 is not in my library, which must be why I found the second one first.
I remember drawing something like the Waterloo Gallery, which is one of the pictures in the middle. It is difficult to make a drawing just like it, and if your perspective work is not just right, you can make your audience dizzy, too, but #32 must be a photo, or I'll eat my hat!
...
Well, right now I don't often wear hats, since I regard that my long hair shields my ears well enough.
Anyway, my initial interest in military history dates back to Caesar and the Romans, but here Rory Muir describes Wellington in an all-encompassing biography that puts you back at least 173 years.
Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814 is not in my library, which must be why I found the second one first.
September 23, 2025
The first hundred or so pages of this is about battle and France (Waterloo). The remainder of the book is about politics (mostly), the lives of the populous and how Wellington influenced them. The latter part of the story is broken up into brilliantly into pieces regarding how the Duke influenced those parts of British life. This was well written.
October 30, 2015
Excellent, honest biography. Strikes a balance with chronology vs covering specific subjects. Will likely read volume 1 soon.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews