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Dancing into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo
Examining a battle that has become one of the most famous in history, this definitive volume chronicles Napoleon's defeat by British, Dutch, Belgian, and German forces on June 18, 1815, in Waterloo, Belgium. Battles were then localized Waterloo was fought on a piece of land approximately the size of Central Park. For a good many of the men who fought there, in fact, war was something of a sport—a feeling reinforced by the image of the Duke of Richmond cheering on his sons in battle. There are few sporting events, however, that end with 56,000 dead, dying, and wounded men and at least 10,000 horses in a similar state. Nick Foulkes' brilliantly realized portrait of the eve of battle brings a fresh perspective to this turning point in European history.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionRegency
267 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 6, 2015
I finished reading this book a few hours ago and had been hesitant as to whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. I finally settled on 5 stars because of the way "Dancing into Battle" recaptured the spirit of the times in Europe between Napoleon's abdication in the spring of 1814 and his re-emergence on the world stage in Paris in March 1815 following his escape from the island of Elba.
The book gives the reader a broad access to the widespread exodus of British aristocrats and other people of means to the Continent that took place in the spring of 1814. With the exception of the brief peace of 1802-1803, it had not been possible to travel to Europe for 20 years. But now that the Bourbons had been restored to the throne in Paris and a Congress had been convened in Vienna among the allies (Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia) who had defeated Napoleon earlier in the year to redraw the map of Europe and secure what they considered to be a just and lasting peace, many among the aristocratic and wealthy classes in Britain were eager to put the hard, lean years of war behind them and just LIVE and ENJOY to the full the pleasures of life on the Continent.
Brussels (then a part of the new nation the United Netherlands) became one of the most sought after places to live, especially for those aristocrats heavily weighed down by debt because it was inexpensive, in a rich, agricultural area, and a city not without charm and its own unique comforts and delights. Many of the British occupation forces were also stationed in and around Brussels. With the war behind them, many of these soldiers were at a bit of a loss. With Napoleon firmly out of the way (or so it was believed at the time), the monied and high-born British expatriate community delighted in making the soldiers feel at home. It became the dream of many a young lady of the British aristocracy in Brussels --- the book is enriched with the personal accounts of many people, soldiers and expatriates alike --- to make the acquaintance of a handsome, gallant officer at one of the many balls that became the norm between the summer of 1814 and the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, with a view to marriage. Such a marriage was considered ideal if the officer already had both wealth and position back in Britain. Indeed, "... British officers of the early nineteenth century bore little resemblance to the professional soldiers of today. Many were aristocrats who purchased commissions and swapped regiments on a whim; the question of regimental loyalty was not yet as highly developed as it would become by the end of the nineteenth century, and for many, fashion was the motivating factor in selecting one regiment over another."
While all this was going on, the Duke of Wellington, Britain's greatest military hero of the age, was in Vienna, as part of the Congress there. However, once Napoleon had escaped from Elba in March 1815, making landfall at Golfe-Juan on the French mainland and proceeding north to Paris, gathering soldiers from the Bourbon Army to his side, the Bourbon King (Louis XVIII) fled from Paris, and the Duke made his way to Brussels to begin the process of reassembling the elements of an allied army (both him and von Blücher, the Prussian commander) to contest and destroy once and for all Napoleon's new army in the making.
"The mere rumour of Bonaparte's presence near the border was enough to terrify the western part of the United Netherlands and disrupt all aspects of life: ... [British families] scattered to Antwerp, Ghent and Ostend, whence, if they could secure passage on a boat, they could escape to England." Yet, for those who remained in Brussels, the balls and horse races continued. The Duke was looked upon as "the indispensable man" who would once again assert the power and authority of Britain in breaking the backbone of the "tyrant and usurper" Napoleon Bonaparte, who commanded fear and respect because of his military genius.
The book then carries the reader along from March to mid-June 1815, when the Battle of Waterloo took place several miles from Brussels. For anyone who has read the scene of the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of battle in Thackeray's novel, "Vanity Fair", he/she will delight in this part of the book. The book also provides some perspective on how the Battle of Waterloo was regarded and celebrated in Britain in the years immediately following it and on to the late 19th century.
Simply put, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey to which I was treated in "Dancing into Battle."
The book gives the reader a broad access to the widespread exodus of British aristocrats and other people of means to the Continent that took place in the spring of 1814. With the exception of the brief peace of 1802-1803, it had not been possible to travel to Europe for 20 years. But now that the Bourbons had been restored to the throne in Paris and a Congress had been convened in Vienna among the allies (Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia) who had defeated Napoleon earlier in the year to redraw the map of Europe and secure what they considered to be a just and lasting peace, many among the aristocratic and wealthy classes in Britain were eager to put the hard, lean years of war behind them and just LIVE and ENJOY to the full the pleasures of life on the Continent.
Brussels (then a part of the new nation the United Netherlands) became one of the most sought after places to live, especially for those aristocrats heavily weighed down by debt because it was inexpensive, in a rich, agricultural area, and a city not without charm and its own unique comforts and delights. Many of the British occupation forces were also stationed in and around Brussels. With the war behind them, many of these soldiers were at a bit of a loss. With Napoleon firmly out of the way (or so it was believed at the time), the monied and high-born British expatriate community delighted in making the soldiers feel at home. It became the dream of many a young lady of the British aristocracy in Brussels --- the book is enriched with the personal accounts of many people, soldiers and expatriates alike --- to make the acquaintance of a handsome, gallant officer at one of the many balls that became the norm between the summer of 1814 and the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, with a view to marriage. Such a marriage was considered ideal if the officer already had both wealth and position back in Britain. Indeed, "... British officers of the early nineteenth century bore little resemblance to the professional soldiers of today. Many were aristocrats who purchased commissions and swapped regiments on a whim; the question of regimental loyalty was not yet as highly developed as it would become by the end of the nineteenth century, and for many, fashion was the motivating factor in selecting one regiment over another."
While all this was going on, the Duke of Wellington, Britain's greatest military hero of the age, was in Vienna, as part of the Congress there. However, once Napoleon had escaped from Elba in March 1815, making landfall at Golfe-Juan on the French mainland and proceeding north to Paris, gathering soldiers from the Bourbon Army to his side, the Bourbon King (Louis XVIII) fled from Paris, and the Duke made his way to Brussels to begin the process of reassembling the elements of an allied army (both him and von Blücher, the Prussian commander) to contest and destroy once and for all Napoleon's new army in the making.
"The mere rumour of Bonaparte's presence near the border was enough to terrify the western part of the United Netherlands and disrupt all aspects of life: ... [British families] scattered to Antwerp, Ghent and Ostend, whence, if they could secure passage on a boat, they could escape to England." Yet, for those who remained in Brussels, the balls and horse races continued. The Duke was looked upon as "the indispensable man" who would once again assert the power and authority of Britain in breaking the backbone of the "tyrant and usurper" Napoleon Bonaparte, who commanded fear and respect because of his military genius.
The book then carries the reader along from March to mid-June 1815, when the Battle of Waterloo took place several miles from Brussels. For anyone who has read the scene of the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of battle in Thackeray's novel, "Vanity Fair", he/she will delight in this part of the book. The book also provides some perspective on how the Battle of Waterloo was regarded and celebrated in Britain in the years immediately following it and on to the late 19th century.
Simply put, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey to which I was treated in "Dancing into Battle."
June 2, 2014
Brilliant. Exactly what I like in a history - gossipy, fact-filled, full of first-hand testimony and anecdotes. It's not often that I say of a history book that I couldn't put it down - and I read a LOT of history - but I could definitely say it of this book. Waterloo from the parks and dance floors of Brussels, from the letters home of the men who fought there and their servants and wives and lovers, from diaries of avid and slightly creepy spectators, and from the memoirs of the many for whom this battle changed their lives forever. The fighting is there too, but this is not a military history, it's very much a social one, giving you a real feel for what it was like to be there, the news and mis-news, the buzz, the confusion and of course the English stiff upper lip which plays even more of a starring role than the epitome of it, Wellington. I highly, highly recommend this book.
May 12, 2025
This is the sort of book that it is so easy to write badly and which I expected to hate but Mr. Foulkes is such a good, intelligent writer and historian that you can only revel in the wonderful way he has brought an important, but small section, of history to life. A really great read for anyone who like Napoleonic history or the history of the Georgian era.
November 1, 2020
A highly readable, almost gossipy at times, narrative social history of the battle of Waterloo. A social history, to be fair, of the upper classes rather than the broader mass of humanity or society as a whole, and entirely from the British side. I’m going to assume that the history here is robust and he hasn’t sexed it up to make it a more entertaining story, and just admire the lively and informative tale he’s wound around these few days in a Belgian field.
It’s a history very much told through the personalities, but he provides a nicely detailed background to life at the turn of the 18th century and enough detail about the political and military events to ground the story well. The characters and background colour is certainly biased towards the aristocracy, but he doesn’t ignore the common man entirely. I suppose there is just less of a written record from the enlisted soldier or serving person, but I’d love to understand a bit more what this period looked like through the eyes of the people carrying the bags around and feeding the horses and pushing the bayonets into the other fellows. Probably there’s a dozen books with this kind of focus, so, given what he set out to do, he’s done very well and left me feeling both entertained and informed.
It’s a history very much told through the personalities, but he provides a nicely detailed background to life at the turn of the 18th century and enough detail about the political and military events to ground the story well. The characters and background colour is certainly biased towards the aristocracy, but he doesn’t ignore the common man entirely. I suppose there is just less of a written record from the enlisted soldier or serving person, but I’d love to understand a bit more what this period looked like through the eyes of the people carrying the bags around and feeding the horses and pushing the bayonets into the other fellows. Probably there’s a dozen books with this kind of focus, so, given what he set out to do, he’s done very well and left me feeling both entertained and informed.
November 7, 2017
A good, readable account of the human and social experience in Brussels in the days before, during, and immediately after the battle, worth reading in particular for nonspecialists who get bogged down in the obsessive quality of so much military history writing (troop dispositions and command structures and diagrams of battlefields). I wish the copyediting had been a bit more precise; a review of comma usage, for example, would not have gone amiss.
June 11, 2015
A well-written book exposing the scandalously loose morals, spendthrift nobility, and battlefield courage of the English before and during the Waterloo Campaign. I liked how the book did not focus solely on the nobility, but also showed some of the experiences of the "common soldiers" and their families. Leaves the reader with a new perspective on Regency society, British military of the early 19th century, and the Battle of Waterloo.
January 4, 2014
A unique examination of the Battle of Waterloo, primarily from the rear, ie., letters, journal entries, etc. of British aristocrats and soldiers in Brussels during the summer of 1815. One of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books on a subject I thought had been written into the ground.
May 17, 2008
this is exactly the book you read when you're writing a book about waterloo. and dancing.
September 21, 2025
Nick Foulkes has written a rather lovely book here. It tells the story of Waterloo from a different angle. There are soldiers in here. From lowly privates to officers and gentlemen, including The Duke of Wellington himself. But there are also civilians. Particular the wealthy British occupants of Brussels.
Brussels was, before the battle, packed full of Britons. There was an army, of course. There to help stabilize the newly formed (and slightly uncertain) United Kingdom of the Netherlands. With them came a high class of flotsam & jetsam who had joined the dash across the Channel for their own reasons. In some cases this is because they weren't quite as wealthy as they would have liked to be and their money went a lot further in Brussels than it did in Britain.
So there is a lot to hear about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. There's lots of interesting stories and characters but at the centre, in a unobtrusive way, is the Duke of Wellington. The Duke is often seen as a cold, cynical aristocrat (and there's an argument to be made that this is what he became later) but this book let's us see that some of his aristocratic insouciance in the run up to Waterloo was an act designed to reassure a nervous Brussels public. It also reminds us that the Duke wasn't always the clean cut hero he is presented. He could, often, be a very naughty boy, especially with Lady Frances Wedderburn-Webster.
There are balls and races. There is sex and romance. There are aristocratic young men showing off in the parks and streets of Brussels. There are drunken soldiers (of all ranks). There is gossip and gossips: of whom Thomas Creevey MP stands out. Creevey was a Whig MP who - if memory serves* - was in Brussels avoiding the consequences of a trial for libel. He provides an insight in the Duke of Wellington's state of mind post-battle when he basically pushes his way into the Duke's home in Brussels.
Foulkes gradually builds up these stories to the Duchess of Richmond's ball, which has cemented a place in history. There is apparently a whole book devoted to the ball - David Miller's The Duchess Of Richmond's Ball, 15 June 1815, which I would now dearly like to read - such is its fame. Foulkes tells it story in a single excellent chapter.
Then the book moves on to the battle itself. Foulkes writes a sketchy but rather excellent account of the how the battle panned out. Obviously being a social history it concentrates more on people. Both soldiers and civilians, including those waiting nervously in Brussels listening to the distant rumble of the cannon. He does a fine job of bringing the uncertainty of that day to life. Rumours of French victory swept through Brussels at one point causing a panicked flight from the City. It's a reminder of how different a world without instantaneous communication is. A world where no one can agree on the time. It also reminds you that the entire battle might have been won when the gates of Hougoument were shut after a small group of French soldiers broke in. On the smallest things the fate of Empire's hang.
This book actually makes a good companion to Paul O'Keeffe's, Waterloo - The Aftermath as both books talk of similar topics but from different angles. So both books talk about the treatment of the wounded. Amputation was a pretty standard practice for the time. Foulkes gives accounts of how Lord Uxbridge and Fitzroy Somerset dealt with their amputations with a stoicism that is almost unbelievable. O'Keeffe gives a detailed account of how a leg was amputated in a chapter that I would not read if you are squeamish. Both books remind us that some of the wounded lay untreated on the battlefield for days. Both books emphasise the shear horror of the post-battle field. The tightness of the space. The density of the bodies. Both books show us how the site became a tourist attraction pretty much immediately.
Foulkes also makes a fine job of showing how miraculous it was that Wellington wasn't killed. His officers died or were badly wounded all around him. As Foulkes himself says, "Often in accounts of the battle given by those who fought at Waterloo, there comes a time when the writer admits he finds it hard to believe how anyone survived..." The Duke himself realised it was a miracle of sorts. He said - almost - as much to Creevey.
I think the section on Wellington after the battle, when his 'act' slipped in the face of realising what the cost of the day had been, is genuinely moving. The quote from the letter Wellington wrote to Lord Aberdeen on June 19th to commiserate with Aberdeen on the loss of his brother illustrates his feelings admirably.
The book ends with an epilogue.
That's all I am going to say on that.
This is a fabulous book, which is written with a clarity that other writers of history would do well to emulate. I can't recommend it enough.
*I really should make notes when reading but I'm generally reading them on buses, tubes and trains so...blah blah blah. (Consider this an apology for the slipshod nature of this blog.)
Brussels was, before the battle, packed full of Britons. There was an army, of course. There to help stabilize the newly formed (and slightly uncertain) United Kingdom of the Netherlands. With them came a high class of flotsam & jetsam who had joined the dash across the Channel for their own reasons. In some cases this is because they weren't quite as wealthy as they would have liked to be and their money went a lot further in Brussels than it did in Britain.
So there is a lot to hear about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. There's lots of interesting stories and characters but at the centre, in a unobtrusive way, is the Duke of Wellington. The Duke is often seen as a cold, cynical aristocrat (and there's an argument to be made that this is what he became later) but this book let's us see that some of his aristocratic insouciance in the run up to Waterloo was an act designed to reassure a nervous Brussels public. It also reminds us that the Duke wasn't always the clean cut hero he is presented. He could, often, be a very naughty boy, especially with Lady Frances Wedderburn-Webster.
There are balls and races. There is sex and romance. There are aristocratic young men showing off in the parks and streets of Brussels. There are drunken soldiers (of all ranks). There is gossip and gossips: of whom Thomas Creevey MP stands out. Creevey was a Whig MP who - if memory serves* - was in Brussels avoiding the consequences of a trial for libel. He provides an insight in the Duke of Wellington's state of mind post-battle when he basically pushes his way into the Duke's home in Brussels.
Foulkes gradually builds up these stories to the Duchess of Richmond's ball, which has cemented a place in history. There is apparently a whole book devoted to the ball - David Miller's The Duchess Of Richmond's Ball, 15 June 1815, which I would now dearly like to read - such is its fame. Foulkes tells it story in a single excellent chapter.
Then the book moves on to the battle itself. Foulkes writes a sketchy but rather excellent account of the how the battle panned out. Obviously being a social history it concentrates more on people. Both soldiers and civilians, including those waiting nervously in Brussels listening to the distant rumble of the cannon. He does a fine job of bringing the uncertainty of that day to life. Rumours of French victory swept through Brussels at one point causing a panicked flight from the City. It's a reminder of how different a world without instantaneous communication is. A world where no one can agree on the time. It also reminds you that the entire battle might have been won when the gates of Hougoument were shut after a small group of French soldiers broke in. On the smallest things the fate of Empire's hang.
This book actually makes a good companion to Paul O'Keeffe's, Waterloo - The Aftermath as both books talk of similar topics but from different angles. So both books talk about the treatment of the wounded. Amputation was a pretty standard practice for the time. Foulkes gives accounts of how Lord Uxbridge and Fitzroy Somerset dealt with their amputations with a stoicism that is almost unbelievable. O'Keeffe gives a detailed account of how a leg was amputated in a chapter that I would not read if you are squeamish. Both books remind us that some of the wounded lay untreated on the battlefield for days. Both books emphasise the shear horror of the post-battle field. The tightness of the space. The density of the bodies. Both books show us how the site became a tourist attraction pretty much immediately.
Foulkes also makes a fine job of showing how miraculous it was that Wellington wasn't killed. His officers died or were badly wounded all around him. As Foulkes himself says, "Often in accounts of the battle given by those who fought at Waterloo, there comes a time when the writer admits he finds it hard to believe how anyone survived..." The Duke himself realised it was a miracle of sorts. He said - almost - as much to Creevey.
I think the section on Wellington after the battle, when his 'act' slipped in the face of realising what the cost of the day had been, is genuinely moving. The quote from the letter Wellington wrote to Lord Aberdeen on June 19th to commiserate with Aberdeen on the loss of his brother illustrates his feelings admirably.
The book ends with an epilogue.
That's all I am going to say on that.
This is a fabulous book, which is written with a clarity that other writers of history would do well to emulate. I can't recommend it enough.
*I really should make notes when reading but I'm generally reading them on buses, tubes and trains so...blah blah blah. (Consider this an apology for the slipshod nature of this blog.)
January 23, 2022
Very nicely done, but leaving you wanting a tad more.
I honestly do not know whether it was possible within the constraints of an edition like this one, seeing the complexity of the question.
So well done anyway: a lively social history where facets of life - and of Englishness - are disclosed, reminding us that nothing much changes: on the day of the battle itself, there were tourists having lunch on a hill overlooking the battlefield. The day following the battle saw more tourists come and visit Waterloo, picking up souvenirs while stepping over dead and mutilated bodies, some of which remained up to 2 weeks lying there...
Nice.
I honestly do not know whether it was possible within the constraints of an edition like this one, seeing the complexity of the question.
So well done anyway: a lively social history where facets of life - and of Englishness - are disclosed, reminding us that nothing much changes: on the day of the battle itself, there were tourists having lunch on a hill overlooking the battlefield. The day following the battle saw more tourists come and visit Waterloo, picking up souvenirs while stepping over dead and mutilated bodies, some of which remained up to 2 weeks lying there...
Nice.
June 28, 2017
Excellent overview of the lead up to the Battle of Waterloo. Conveys the carefree atmosphere of Brussels and high society living there in the run up to the battle. Very well researched and lots of incidental information about the characters of the time. Good and useful bibliography for anyone wishing to research further.
June 22, 2014
On the eve of the battle of Quatre Bras the Duchess of Richmond held a glittering ball at which all the great and good indulged themselves to their own personal excesses before going off to battle the next morning. With such, possibly stupid, sangfroid is English history riven. After Ney had failed in his bloody attempt to take the crucial crossroads, Napoleon was forced to meet Wellington at Waterloo, the "close run thing" that resulted in Napoleon's ultimate defeat and exile to St Helena where he died.
What was everybody doing in Brussels at that time? Why was there this huge encampment of British aristocracy on the continent? This is something that has been answered in this excellent book by Nick Foulkes. A historian, journalist and judge for the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve he has been through the copious letters and diaries that were so prolific at the time getting perspectives that fall outside the standard military records. He charts the arrival of the English aristocracy in Brussels, the gaiety of their lives, the social niceties and nastiness and the changes from the frivolous pursuit of affordable pleasures (the exchange rate was very tempting at the time)to the onset of panic and disbelief as young men cantered away anticipating that they would be back in time for the next hand of cards. What would happen to them if Wellington lost the battle?
Mixed into the rich social upper class mix are some more homely records of the Infantry men and their families who viewed things rather differently to the officer class. Literally cannon fodder they knew it would their order who bore the brunt of the dying.
After the battle life was soon restored to normal and by the end of the week the battlefield was already becoming a tourist attraction. At that point thousands of wounded soldiers were still lying on the field. But order had prevailed and the defeat of Napoleon laid to rest the last great bogeyman of Europe at the time.
His style is precise and humorous with the apposite use of quotations from the resource material. All in all this an enjoyable book, the first I have read with a broader view than the just the military encounter that topped Wellington's astonishing career as a soldier.
What was everybody doing in Brussels at that time? Why was there this huge encampment of British aristocracy on the continent? This is something that has been answered in this excellent book by Nick Foulkes. A historian, journalist and judge for the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve he has been through the copious letters and diaries that were so prolific at the time getting perspectives that fall outside the standard military records. He charts the arrival of the English aristocracy in Brussels, the gaiety of their lives, the social niceties and nastiness and the changes from the frivolous pursuit of affordable pleasures (the exchange rate was very tempting at the time)to the onset of panic and disbelief as young men cantered away anticipating that they would be back in time for the next hand of cards. What would happen to them if Wellington lost the battle?
Mixed into the rich social upper class mix are some more homely records of the Infantry men and their families who viewed things rather differently to the officer class. Literally cannon fodder they knew it would their order who bore the brunt of the dying.
After the battle life was soon restored to normal and by the end of the week the battlefield was already becoming a tourist attraction. At that point thousands of wounded soldiers were still lying on the field. But order had prevailed and the defeat of Napoleon laid to rest the last great bogeyman of Europe at the time.
His style is precise and humorous with the apposite use of quotations from the resource material. All in all this an enjoyable book, the first I have read with a broader view than the just the military encounter that topped Wellington's astonishing career as a soldier.
July 3, 2012
Different perspective of the period of Napeleon's rule, the clash between France and England, in that it depicts the social history between the aristocracy of the two countries. Better to read this as a complement to other historical books about the Battle of Waterloo. I found it hard to keep up with all the people's names and the heirarcy.
May 15, 2025
This book was superbly written and highly enjoyable to read. If you enjoy military history you’ll appreciate how easy it is to read. As more often than not, history authors lack storytelling ability. Some say if a book makes you laugh then it’s a good book.
August 24, 2015
REALLY liked this book, AFTER I read An Infamous Army. I'd tried once before to read this, and bounced off. After finishing Heyer's take on events, this book of history was PERFECT. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews