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Homicidal Earl
The 7th Earl of Cardigan, the subject of this biography, is always remembered as the man who led the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854. A fatal event for so many of his men, it was to rejuvenate Cardigan's life. Hitherto his career had been dogged by public scandal and professional disgrace: a failed marriage to a divorcee, two court appearances for adultery, two courts martial, numerous duels (which earned him the sobriquet "the homicidal earl"), a state trial for intent to murder, dismissal from the command of a crack cavalry regiment, being blackballed 46 times by the leading military club, being hissed at in theatres, parliamentary questions about his conduct. All seemed conveniently forgotten in the wake of his valour at Balaclava. But was Cardigan a hero? Or was the fierce criticism of his conduct in the Crimea by fellow officers - that he ill-treated horses and men and, even worse, saved his own skin at Balaclava - justified, and in keeping with his reprehensible past? Against the backdrop of a country in the throws of social, political and economic revolution, the book depicts Lord Cardigan as a man both of and outside his times.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1997
68 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Saul David
53 books175 followersSAUL DAVID was born in Monmouth in 1966 and educated at Ampleforth College and Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities (History MA and PhD).
An expert in the wars of the Victorian period, he began writing his first history book when he was twenty-five and has since completed eight more. They include: The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan (1997), a critically-acclaimed biography of the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade; The Indian Mutiny:1857 (2002), shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature; Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (2004), a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year; and the bestselling Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire (2006). In 2007 he signed a three book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a series of historical novels set in the late Victorian period. The first, Zulu Hart, was published on 5 March 2009 to critical acclaim with The Times describing it as a 'rattling good yarn' with 'a compelling, sexy hero who could give Cornwell's Sharpe a run for his money'. He is currently writing a history of the British Army.
An expert in the wars of the Victorian period, he began writing his first history book when he was twenty-five and has since completed eight more. They include: The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan (1997), a critically-acclaimed biography of the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade; The Indian Mutiny:1857 (2002), shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature; Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (2004), a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year; and the bestselling Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire (2006). In 2007 he signed a three book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a series of historical novels set in the late Victorian period. The first, Zulu Hart, was published on 5 March 2009 to critical acclaim with The Times describing it as a 'rattling good yarn' with 'a compelling, sexy hero who could give Cornwell's Sharpe a run for his money'. He is currently writing a history of the British Army.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 24, 2019
I must confess, spoiled, wastrel, British aristocrats have long held interest for me, possibly from reading Flashman novels during my youth. A good example is George IV, Prinny to friends, a grotesquely obese, self indulgent sloth driven largely by gluttony, lust, and ego (he often fantasized aloud he’d been with Wellington at Waterloo. When he reminisced with the Iron Duke about the battle, his tactful reply was “So Your Majesty has often said.”).
That’s why I read Saul David’s biography of James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, with no little fascination. Cardigan is best known for having led the catastrophic Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War, but already had a notorious reputation beforehand for innumerable quarrels, peccadilloes, and assorted scandals. Spoiled rotten from childhood (the only boy among six sisters), possessed of almost limitless wealth, prone to indulge every impulse, Cardigan was embroiled from youth in one wretched, damned piece of business after another, duels, divorces, serial adultery, and a suit for criminal connection (sex with another man’s wife). He figures prominently in Fraser’s Flashman At The Charge and other fictional depictions as the very picture of a domineering, self-indulgent, rude aristocrat. Trevor Howard gives perhaps the most vivid portrayal of this in Tony Richardson’s fact based 1968 film, The Charge of the Light Brigade.
A keen horseman and determined upon glory, Cardigan fixed on a career as a cavalryman and, in accordance with the prevailing system for acquiring rank in the British Army, purchased his commissions, often at a very high illegal premium above the stipulated price. He soon commanded one of the most distinguished cavalry regiments in the Army, the 11th Hussars (cavalry in the 19th Century had far more status and panache than lowly infantry). While he trained his troops hard and lavished money on equipment and uniforms from his own funds, his chief feature as a commander was his almost complete inability to get along with subordinate officers. One incident after another is described in which Cardigan embroiled himself in a bitter, personal quarrel with a junior officer, the most well known being the Black Bottle Affair, where Cardigan went ape because a subordinate ordered a bottle of Moselle at a formal regimental banquet. All these matters had to be kicked upstairs for resolution by the Army’s most senior officers. I know from my own limited military experience that COs absolutely hate trouble like this and it doesn’t take too many such incidents for them to form a distinctly adverse opinion of the officer causing all the ruckus. It must have taken all the Iron Duke’s legendary sang-froid to keep from tearing his hair out over Cardigan.
His one real chance to capture military glory, that elusive sprite, his ultimate goal, came with the Crimean War. I won’t extend this review to epic length by going into the complicated and confusing details of the Charge, but will simply note that the author gives a relatively straightforward, understandable account of the encounter, aided by maps and diagrams. His verdict on Cardigan’s behavior seems largely warranted to me as well: while he rode bravely with his men into the Valley of Death, he showed complete disinterest once he crossed the line of Russian guns, in fact, turned his horse and returned to the British lines with complete disregard for his men, a singularly gross act of dereliction of duty. Other unsavory details are provided, like his resting in luxury aboard his private steam yacht while his men slept in the open and their horses died of exposure and malnutrition.
Cardigan had the good fortune to return to England before all the Charge’s unappealing details had emerged. He had a brief moment in the sun, lionized and even received by Queen Victoria and her family, but the taint of his spoiled character surely intervened as it always would. Rivals and enemies, to include his own superior and brother-in-law, Lord Lucan, vigorously disputed in public his conduct during the Charge. The black cloud of suspicion and disrepute that had followed him all his adult life gathered again. Heedless, like the extremely self-centered man he was, Cardigan continued to go his own way, with enough energy in old age to create yet another scandal by marrying a woman half his age, who’d openly lived with Cardigan as his mistress previously. With Cardigan’s death, the last of the Brudenells, the title transferred to a collateral branch of the family.
The biographer does his best to be fair to his subject. Against charges of Cardigan being an upper class twit, he notes his good academic record during his brief school days and points out how he matured as a politician in the House of Lords. David also observes his frequent kindnesses to enlisted men and tenants, but also recognizes that this was considered noblesse oblige, the sort of obligation aristocrats were supposed to fulfill in Cardigan’s day. Despite these efforts at balance, I must say Cardigan still comes across as a thoroughly disagreeable sort of person, even making allowances for the different era and stratum he occupied from my own. And when it comes to the most important aspect of his life (by his own estimate), his military career, he was sadly lacking, the sort of superficial officer who worried more about sword knots and general turnout than unit cohesion and real combat effectiveness.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in the late Regency, early Victorian era in Great Britain and the Crimean War.
That’s why I read Saul David’s biography of James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, with no little fascination. Cardigan is best known for having led the catastrophic Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War, but already had a notorious reputation beforehand for innumerable quarrels, peccadilloes, and assorted scandals. Spoiled rotten from childhood (the only boy among six sisters), possessed of almost limitless wealth, prone to indulge every impulse, Cardigan was embroiled from youth in one wretched, damned piece of business after another, duels, divorces, serial adultery, and a suit for criminal connection (sex with another man’s wife). He figures prominently in Fraser’s Flashman At The Charge and other fictional depictions as the very picture of a domineering, self-indulgent, rude aristocrat. Trevor Howard gives perhaps the most vivid portrayal of this in Tony Richardson’s fact based 1968 film, The Charge of the Light Brigade.
A keen horseman and determined upon glory, Cardigan fixed on a career as a cavalryman and, in accordance with the prevailing system for acquiring rank in the British Army, purchased his commissions, often at a very high illegal premium above the stipulated price. He soon commanded one of the most distinguished cavalry regiments in the Army, the 11th Hussars (cavalry in the 19th Century had far more status and panache than lowly infantry). While he trained his troops hard and lavished money on equipment and uniforms from his own funds, his chief feature as a commander was his almost complete inability to get along with subordinate officers. One incident after another is described in which Cardigan embroiled himself in a bitter, personal quarrel with a junior officer, the most well known being the Black Bottle Affair, where Cardigan went ape because a subordinate ordered a bottle of Moselle at a formal regimental banquet. All these matters had to be kicked upstairs for resolution by the Army’s most senior officers. I know from my own limited military experience that COs absolutely hate trouble like this and it doesn’t take too many such incidents for them to form a distinctly adverse opinion of the officer causing all the ruckus. It must have taken all the Iron Duke’s legendary sang-froid to keep from tearing his hair out over Cardigan.
His one real chance to capture military glory, that elusive sprite, his ultimate goal, came with the Crimean War. I won’t extend this review to epic length by going into the complicated and confusing details of the Charge, but will simply note that the author gives a relatively straightforward, understandable account of the encounter, aided by maps and diagrams. His verdict on Cardigan’s behavior seems largely warranted to me as well: while he rode bravely with his men into the Valley of Death, he showed complete disinterest once he crossed the line of Russian guns, in fact, turned his horse and returned to the British lines with complete disregard for his men, a singularly gross act of dereliction of duty. Other unsavory details are provided, like his resting in luxury aboard his private steam yacht while his men slept in the open and their horses died of exposure and malnutrition.
Cardigan had the good fortune to return to England before all the Charge’s unappealing details had emerged. He had a brief moment in the sun, lionized and even received by Queen Victoria and her family, but the taint of his spoiled character surely intervened as it always would. Rivals and enemies, to include his own superior and brother-in-law, Lord Lucan, vigorously disputed in public his conduct during the Charge. The black cloud of suspicion and disrepute that had followed him all his adult life gathered again. Heedless, like the extremely self-centered man he was, Cardigan continued to go his own way, with enough energy in old age to create yet another scandal by marrying a woman half his age, who’d openly lived with Cardigan as his mistress previously. With Cardigan’s death, the last of the Brudenells, the title transferred to a collateral branch of the family.
The biographer does his best to be fair to his subject. Against charges of Cardigan being an upper class twit, he notes his good academic record during his brief school days and points out how he matured as a politician in the House of Lords. David also observes his frequent kindnesses to enlisted men and tenants, but also recognizes that this was considered noblesse oblige, the sort of obligation aristocrats were supposed to fulfill in Cardigan’s day. Despite these efforts at balance, I must say Cardigan still comes across as a thoroughly disagreeable sort of person, even making allowances for the different era and stratum he occupied from my own. And when it comes to the most important aspect of his life (by his own estimate), his military career, he was sadly lacking, the sort of superficial officer who worried more about sword knots and general turnout than unit cohesion and real combat effectiveness.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in the late Regency, early Victorian era in Great Britain and the Crimean War.
February 23, 2017
David casts a sympathetic though not uncritical eye towards the infamous commander of the Light Brigade. David dispels many of Cecil Woodham-Smith's harsher characterizations, eg. of Cardigan as stupid and unfeeling towards his men. In fact he was fairly intelligent and cared deeply towards his soldiers, if not his fellow officers. David also shows him as an active MP, albeit a particularly reactionary one. Still, Cardigan's repellant traits are undeniable: his temper, ego, promiscuity and uncanny predilection for scandal. David's final picture is of a short-tempered martinet, probably as fair a portrait as Cardigan deserves.
March 16, 2018
A good book, a biography of the 7th Earl of Cardigan, made famous by the Charge of the Light Brigade. The book presents a different view of Cardigan then had previously been the case. The author, Saul David, does a great job in laying out both the criticisms against Cardigan and the compliments and circumstances which are less well known. Digging deep into the primary sources, David shows Cardigan as a smart, astute, and driven character who was a product of his time and background. The author doesn’t shy away from pointing out the many controversies and foibles of which Cardigan is rightly maligned. But he does show that these were in keeping with the general behavior of person in Cardigan’s position, that the victims of his wrath were rarely wholly innocent, and that there was a side of Cardigan which was laudable in its caring and character. To be sure, David does not paint Cardigan as any sort of military genius, nor was he an upstart figure of his age, but I think the author does make a good case in rescuing Cardigan from the myth of incompetence. A great book for those wanting to know more about the machinations of the British Army in the early 19th century.
March 22, 2020
There must have been something in the blurb that made me originally buy this book, but once I started reading it I realised it just wasn't for me.
September 20, 2018
Fascinating
An insight into the World of Victorian Britain’s aristocracy and her Army. The author is generous about an arrogant and foolish man who like many others bought himself a senior military post. He then led the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade when he seems to have wilfully mis- interpreted his orders given by his brother in law Lord Lucan whom he disliked. Amid the battles the two obsessed about who had said what in long detailed complaints to the Commander in Chief. His personal rapid retreat from the Russian guns, always denied, leaving his men to be slaughtered was the real measure of this monster.
An insight into the World of Victorian Britain’s aristocracy and her Army. The author is generous about an arrogant and foolish man who like many others bought himself a senior military post. He then led the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade when he seems to have wilfully mis- interpreted his orders given by his brother in law Lord Lucan whom he disliked. Amid the battles the two obsessed about who had said what in long detailed complaints to the Commander in Chief. His personal rapid retreat from the Russian guns, always denied, leaving his men to be slaughtered was the real measure of this monster.
September 2, 2016
I liked it but I find all this type of book very heavy going. I much prefer them in audio - easier to absorb. Having said that it was a very informative and comprehensive book not only on the Charge of the Light Brigade but also on the life, times and mores of the class that Lord Cardigan belonged to. Really a book on the times as well as the man.
October 18, 2025
James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan's, name is best remembered with the cardigan sweater.
The person will forever be known as the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade.
At the time, he was already well known, as he had been involved in a number of scandals and political fights in the public arena, and a few duels got him the nickname of "the homicidal earl". History has not been too kind to him, and Saul David's book is looking to correct this, and has important things to say.
But, at the same time, I think he's much to fast to let some problems go. The start of Cardigan's career was spent as colonel of the 15th Hussars (after buying several promotions), and is there that the problems start. Trying to have a unit in a high state of drill in the quickest manner possible, the unit was put through a grueling schedule which wore out the horses and ended with a court martial of one of his captains, and was so disastrous that Brudenell (not yet an Earl) was removed from command, and his name gained a negative notoriety.
Two years later, his dismissal was reversed, and he was put in command of the 11th Light Hussars. At the time he took charge, they were just being rotated home after duty in India. Cardigan was not exactly swift in going out to take command, finally arriving shortly before the transfer to Britain. This time, there were a series of public disputes with various officers. The end result was a well-trained regiment, which David obliquely points up. However, a better leader would have managed this without a continual parade of arrests and disputes and court martials of his own officers, and Cardigan bears all the blame for making sure this would happen. When he first took command, he made clear he thought little of "Indian officers" (which are British officers who served in India; I do not care to think of what he'd have to say about actual native officers).
The general motive behind this is that commissions to units serving outside of Britain were cheaper, and therefore anyone holding such was a social inferior. Since the other officers were gentlemen who were unused to being snubbed. It also supported an instant break in the officers between antagonistic pro- and con-Cardigan camps. Any leader worth having does not do this.
In comparison, his record in the Crimea War is actually quite reasonable. Well, other than his constant fighting with his superior officer, Lord Lucan, a brother-in-law who he detested. Given past history, the two could have done much worse, and the orders that led to the famous Charge were more than incoherent enough to lead to disaster if passed between people who liked each other. That said, he had opportunity and initiative enough to find a better course than charging down the valley at what he supposed the objective must be. Worse, once there, he seems to have expected that's where his part ended, and did nothing to bring order out of the chaos that inevitably resulted as the Light Brigade got past the Russian guns.
David does point out some good correctives. Cardigan has often been seen as a dunce, and it's fairly evident he was smart enough, but did not have the upbringing to curb an excitable temper, nor to consider anyone's needs or views other than purely his own. He, and much of the upper command levels of the British force in Crimea, had little cause for being responsible for so many with so little understanding of anything beyond prestige.
My copy of the ebook (which seems to have been superseded) has plenty of minor problems. Words broken in the middle (formerly broken between lines, no doubt), occasional mistaken characters ('l' for '1', etc). This follows the common pattern of getting slowly more common until about 3/4 of the way through the book, and then clearing up again for the end. But there's no big problems, and no formatting goofs, so it's still a very readable, if not entirely cleaned up text. The current version (with the same cover) may be better.
The person will forever be known as the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade.
At the time, he was already well known, as he had been involved in a number of scandals and political fights in the public arena, and a few duels got him the nickname of "the homicidal earl". History has not been too kind to him, and Saul David's book is looking to correct this, and has important things to say.
But, at the same time, I think he's much to fast to let some problems go. The start of Cardigan's career was spent as colonel of the 15th Hussars (after buying several promotions), and is there that the problems start. Trying to have a unit in a high state of drill in the quickest manner possible, the unit was put through a grueling schedule which wore out the horses and ended with a court martial of one of his captains, and was so disastrous that Brudenell (not yet an Earl) was removed from command, and his name gained a negative notoriety.
Two years later, his dismissal was reversed, and he was put in command of the 11th Light Hussars. At the time he took charge, they were just being rotated home after duty in India. Cardigan was not exactly swift in going out to take command, finally arriving shortly before the transfer to Britain. This time, there were a series of public disputes with various officers. The end result was a well-trained regiment, which David obliquely points up. However, a better leader would have managed this without a continual parade of arrests and disputes and court martials of his own officers, and Cardigan bears all the blame for making sure this would happen. When he first took command, he made clear he thought little of "Indian officers" (which are British officers who served in India; I do not care to think of what he'd have to say about actual native officers).
The general motive behind this is that commissions to units serving outside of Britain were cheaper, and therefore anyone holding such was a social inferior. Since the other officers were gentlemen who were unused to being snubbed. It also supported an instant break in the officers between antagonistic pro- and con-Cardigan camps. Any leader worth having does not do this.
In comparison, his record in the Crimea War is actually quite reasonable. Well, other than his constant fighting with his superior officer, Lord Lucan, a brother-in-law who he detested. Given past history, the two could have done much worse, and the orders that led to the famous Charge were more than incoherent enough to lead to disaster if passed between people who liked each other. That said, he had opportunity and initiative enough to find a better course than charging down the valley at what he supposed the objective must be. Worse, once there, he seems to have expected that's where his part ended, and did nothing to bring order out of the chaos that inevitably resulted as the Light Brigade got past the Russian guns.
David does point out some good correctives. Cardigan has often been seen as a dunce, and it's fairly evident he was smart enough, but did not have the upbringing to curb an excitable temper, nor to consider anyone's needs or views other than purely his own. He, and much of the upper command levels of the British force in Crimea, had little cause for being responsible for so many with so little understanding of anything beyond prestige.
My copy of the ebook (which seems to have been superseded) has plenty of minor problems. Words broken in the middle (formerly broken between lines, no doubt), occasional mistaken characters ('l' for '1', etc). This follows the common pattern of getting slowly more common until about 3/4 of the way through the book, and then clearing up again for the end. But there's no big problems, and no formatting goofs, so it's still a very readable, if not entirely cleaned up text. The current version (with the same cover) may be better.
May 30, 2023
Wow this was a seriously long book. 550 pages but that was in print and this was the kindle version!
The Earl of Cardigan started out in life as one of seven children and the only son, his name before he became an Earl was James Brudenell. He wasn't that intelligent a man, couldn't be bothered to finish off his degree at university and as what seemed to be the way of all aristocratic young men with no estate yet to run, entered the army, buying himself a commission into officer-ship. He wasn't that brilliant at anything really I don't think. He was a serial philanderer and was quick to find faults in people and then these faults became grievances and he held grudges for ever.
He is most notable for his actions in the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimea. He led his troops, the 11th Hussars into battle, and it was a complete disaster with most of them annihilated. He was famous for turning his horse round and leaving them, riding back into camp. This was what history most remembered him for. And frankly he wasn't a very likeable man, sent a shedload of petty letters constantly to his superiors about someone or other's actions regarding his orders, took on a very young mistress whilst his wife of many years lay dying and then married her as soon as he could after her death. His one piece of good luck, well history's really I suppose, is that he never had children by either of his wives. I really don't know why I stuck with this book, but I did and spent several days doing so!
The Earl of Cardigan started out in life as one of seven children and the only son, his name before he became an Earl was James Brudenell. He wasn't that intelligent a man, couldn't be bothered to finish off his degree at university and as what seemed to be the way of all aristocratic young men with no estate yet to run, entered the army, buying himself a commission into officer-ship. He wasn't that brilliant at anything really I don't think. He was a serial philanderer and was quick to find faults in people and then these faults became grievances and he held grudges for ever.
He is most notable for his actions in the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimea. He led his troops, the 11th Hussars into battle, and it was a complete disaster with most of them annihilated. He was famous for turning his horse round and leaving them, riding back into camp. This was what history most remembered him for. And frankly he wasn't a very likeable man, sent a shedload of petty letters constantly to his superiors about someone or other's actions regarding his orders, took on a very young mistress whilst his wife of many years lay dying and then married her as soon as he could after her death. His one piece of good luck, well history's really I suppose, is that he never had children by either of his wives. I really don't know why I stuck with this book, but I did and spent several days doing so!
July 3, 2025
Published in 1997, 'The Homicidal Earl' is a bio of the Earl of Cardigan, he who lead the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. This lengthy bio provides a lot of background to the Earl, and tries to dispel some of the myths that surround the man. Interpret it as you wish - I came away convinced that bad things followed this fellow around, aided by his non-existent pr skills. Very enjoyable.
May 12, 2023
Picked it up in an antique shop for £1, attracted by the great title. It's not so much Cardigan himself that is fascinating but the times in which he lived.
August 21, 2022
A very interesting if somewhat lengthy book , but it does expose the class system and the administrative short coming of the British army
February 9, 2023
This is perfectly adequate life of a incredibly nasty and unappealing man. If he hadn't taken part in grotesque militar farce which pointlessly wasted the lives of most men in his regiment and was then commemorated by Tennyson he would totally and rightly forgotten. In fact there is no reason for him to be remembered even with the Light Brigade connection. This biography tells you everything there is to know about him, but why bother. The man is a typical example of the worst sort of British peer and landowner. That men like him continued to have a legislative function in the UK until the 1990s is one of the more absurd anachronism of this anachronistic sheltered isle.
November 18, 2016
This is a meticulously researched book spanning Lord Cardigan's adult life. Thoroughly enjoyable it offers a fascinating insight to the early part of Queen Victoria's reign and the wars fought by her armies.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews