The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread dedicated to the discussion of Wellington and books related to him, his battles and exploits.

Here are a few good books covering Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars:


by Peter Snow
Description:
The story of the men who fought their way across Europe to topple Napoleon told by those who were there.

What made Arthur Duke of Wellington the military genius who was never defeated in battle? In the vivid narrative style that is his trademark, Peter Snow recalls how Wellington evolved from a backward, sensitive schoolboy into the aloof but brilliant commander. He tracks the development of Wellington’s leadership and his relationship with the extraordinary band of men he led from Portugal in 1808 to their final destruction of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo seven years. Having described his soldiers as the ‘scum of the earth’ Wellington transformed them into the finest fighting force of their time.

Digging deep into the rich treasure house of diaries and journals that make this war the first in history to be so well recorded, Snow examines how Wellington won the devotion of generals such as the irascible Thomas Picton and the starry but reckless ‘Black Bob’ Crauford and soldiers like Rifleman Benjamin Harris and Irishman Ned Costello. Through many first-hand accounts, Snow brings to life the horrors and all of the humanity of life in and out of battle, as well as shows the way that Wellington mastered the battlefield to outsmart the French and change the future of Europe.

To War with Wellington is the gripping account of a remarkable leader and his men.

Reviews:
“A superb account of what it must have been like serving under Britain's greatest - but also most exacting – soldier.” - Andrew Roberts, (Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year)

“Fascinating. History written as it should be: entertaining and informative.” - Independent on Sunday

“A refreshingly accessible portrait of one of Britain’s greatest generals, it will take some beating.” - Yorkshire Evening Post

“Dramatic, often moving, sometimes shocking . . . Snow’s story is far more powerful than fiction.” – Herald

“The bloodcurdling (and surprisingly steamy) soldiers’ diaries that reveal how Britain trounced Napoleon in battle.” - Daily Mail

“Snow’s descriptions of battles . . . are unrivalled.” - Oxford Times

“A must-read.” - Heritage Today

by Richard Holmes
Description:
Richard Holmes, highly acclaimed military historian and broadcaster, tells the exhilarating story of Britain's greatest-ever soldier, the man who posed the most serious threat to Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington's remarkable life and extraordinary campaigns are recreated with Holmes' superb skill in this compelling book. Richard Holmes charts Wellington's stellar military career from India to Europe, and in the process, rediscovers the reasons Queen Victoria called him the greatest man the nineteenth century had produced. Combining his astute historical analysis with a semi-biographical examination of Wellington, Holmes artfully illustrates the rapid evolution in military and political thinking of the time. Wellington is a brilliant figure, idealistic in politics, cynical in love, a wit, a beau, a man of enormous courage often sickened by war. As Richard Holmes charts his progress from a shy, indolent boy to commander-in-chief of the allied forces, he also exposes the Iron Duke as a philanderer, and a man who sometimes despised the men that he led, and was not always in control of his soldiers. Particularly infamous is the bestial rampage of his men after the capture of Cuidad Rodgrigo and Badajoz. THE IRON DUKE is a beautifully produced book, complete with stunning illustrations and colour plates.

by Christopher Hibbert
Description:
A bestseller in hardback, this is a highly-praised and much-needed biography of the first Duke of Wellington, concentrating on the personal life of the victor of Waterloo, and based on the fruits of modern research. Christopher Hibbert is Britain’s leading popular historian.

Wellington (1769–1852) achieved fame as a soldier fighting the Mahratta in India. His later brilliant generalship fighting the French in Spain and his defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo earned him a dukedom and the award of Apsley House (No. 1, London) and a large estate in Hampshire.

His second career saw him make his mark as a politician with commanding presence. Appointed Commander-in-Chief for life, he became Prime Minister in 1827 and presided over the emancipation of Roman Catholics and the formation of the country’s first police force.

Privately, he was unhappily married, and had several mistresses (including two of Napoleon’s) and many intimate friendships with women. The private side of the public man has never been so richly delineated as in this masterly biography.

by Gordon Corrigan
Description:
The Duke of Wellington, the most successful of commanders, set a standard by which all subsequent British generals have been measured. His defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and his involvement in the Peninsular Wars are examined and his claim to greatness is examined.

by E. Longford
Description:
The archetype of the stern, silent Englishman dedicated to his duty, the Duke of Wellington had all the subtlety and variety of genius. This biography uncovers the sensitive child of Irish aristocrats pushed into the army, making his name in India before returning to lead the Allied Armies to victory against Napoleon in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. Swapping battlegrounds for political minefields, Wellington emerges as a conservative Tory Prime Minister of a country demanding every variety of reform. Many strands gradually come together in his character, to make at last the ideal he had always held out for himself: "the retained servant of king and people".

Review:
"Capaciously documented, this first volume of a two-volume life of the Duke of Wellington places its author, Lady Longford (author also of Queen Victoria) in the front ranks of 20th century military and political biographers. Through family connections with Wellington's inadequate wife, Kitty Pakenham, she has had access to hitherto untapped family records: her knowledge of his campaigns has enabled her to write knowledgeably of his defeats, victories and frustrations, his brutal discipline and his concern for the welfare of men who called him "Nosey" and followed him with grudging confidence. Three months older than Napoleon, Arthur Wesley or Wellesley was born in Ireland in 1769, the second - and awkward - son of a noble family. Poor and without apparent talents, he joined the army and in an appallingly mismanaged winter campaign in 1794 against the French learned how not to run an army or fight a war. Ordered to India in 1796, Arthur made money and enemies and achieved fame, now often forgotten, by defeating Tipoo, Sultan of Mysore, and the "tumultous" Mahrattas. Returning to England in 1806, he became involved with the notorious Hariette Wilson and made the mistake of marrying his former Irish sweetheart, Kitty Pakenham. Seat to Spain in 1808 when Napoleon prepared his own downfall by putting his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne, Arthur, after six heartbreaking years drove tile French from the Peninsula, for which he was made Duke of Wellington. On Napoleon's escape from exile in Elba in 1815 he was appointed commander of the allied armies in Belgium, meeting and defeating his old enemy at Waterloo on June 16: the author's account of this battle is one of the best parts of tin amazing book. It is at once stirring biography and stimulating social history, dispassionate and sympathetic, and even it' Wellington hasn't quite the instantaneously identifiable appeal of Victoria, still it will he read widely." - Kirkus Reviews

by Jac Weller
Description:
Jac Weller gives a complete account of Wellington's career in India, the battles and sieges he undertook and the lessons he learned that prepared him for the campaigns he would later undertake against the best European armies.

by Jac Weller
Description:
This text demonstrates how a great commander finally achieved victory after six years of battle against Napoleon''s army. The author covers all the battles against the French that Wellington was involved in.

by Jac Weller
Description:
Wellington at Waterloo clearly charts every move and counter-move in this sweeping campaign, from Napole on''s dramatic offensive and the opening battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras to the hard pounding at Waterloo itself.

Thank you for the adds Aussie Rick.

I thought this may be of interest ( Aussie Rick) A journal of F. Seymour Larpent who was attached to Wellingtons head quarters.
I have listened to a sample on audible the description and detail in the journal is remarkable.


Description of book on Good reads site

Contents Include: Departure from England - Arrival at Head-Quarters - Arrival of the Gazette - More Courts-martial - News of the French - Newspaper Complaints - The March Commenced - Anecdote of Wellington - Pamplona - Movements of the Army - Rejoicings for the Victory - Reported Renewal of Operations against St. Sebastian - The Author Taken Prisoner

bySir George, Larpent

Thanks for the information on that book Karen, much appreciated, it does sound very interesting indeed :)

All for the King's Shilling: The British Soldier Under Wellington, 1808-1814

Edward J. Coss

Synopsis

The British troops who fought so successfully under the Duke of Wellington during his Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon have long been branded by the duke's own words--"scum of the earth"--and assumed to have been society's ne'er-do-wells or criminals who enlisted to escape justice. Now Edward J. Coss shows to the contrary that most of these redcoats were respectable laborers and tradesmen and that it was mainly their working-class status that prompted the duke's derision. Driven into the army by unemployment in the wake of Britain's industrial revolution, they confronted wartime hardship with ethical values and became formidable soldiers in the bargain.

Coss draws on a comprehensive database on British soldiers as well as first-person accounts of Peninsular War participants to offer a better understanding of their backgrounds and daily lives. He describes how these neglected and abused soldiers came to rely increasingly on the emotional and physical support of comrades and developed their own moral and behavioral code. Their cohesiveness, Coss argues, was a major factor in their legendary triumphs over Napoleon's battle-hardened troops.

The first work to closely examine the social composition of Wellington's rank and file through the lens of military psychology, All for the King's Shilling transcends the Napoleonic battlefield to help explain the motivation and behavior of all soldiers under the stress of combat.

Wellington: The Iron Duke


by Philip J. Haythornthwaite

Synopsis

One of the Duke of Wellington's officers once remarked, "We would rather see his long nose in the sight than a reinforcement of ten thousand men." Arthur Wellesley, first duke of Wellington (1769 1852), was one of the greatest military commanders in history and is best known as the successful opponent at Waterloo of arguably the leading general of all time, Napoleon Bonaparte.Although Waterloo is the battle most associated with Wellington, his career was much wider. He gained his first military experience in the Netherlands in 1793-94 in an unsuccessful campaign that taught him, as he said, "how not to do it." From there he went to India, where he conducted a number of successful campaigns and honed his military skills until he became Britain's leading general. With great strategic foresight and as master not only of the battlefield but also of organization and logistics, he helped expel the French from Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War, which materially weakened Napoleon's strategic position and led to his downfall in 1814. After Napoleon returned from exile in 1815, Wellington was a principal leader of the coalition forces at Waterloo. In subsequent years, Wellington exerted a considerable influence on British politics, serving as prime minister and in later life as a trusted elder statesman. Upon his death, he was widely regarded as the greatest Briton of his generation and undisputedly one of the greatest British soldiers.The Duke of Wellington has been the subject of many biographies over the years but none as comprehensive yet concise as this latest addition to Potomac's Military Profiles series

An upcoming book:
Release date: December 3, 2013

Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814

by Rory Muir (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Duke of Wellington was not just Britain’s greatest soldier, although his seismic struggles as leader of the Allied forces against Napoleon in the Peninsular War deservedly became the stuff of British national legend. Wellington was much more: a man of vision beyond purely military matters, a politically astute thinker, and a canny diplomat as well as lover, husband, and friend. Rory Muir’s masterful new biography, the first of a two-volume set, is the fruit of a lifetime’s research and discovery into Wellington and his times. The author brings Wellington into much sharper focus than ever before, addressing his masterstrokes and mistakes in equal measure. Muir looks at all aspects of Wellington’s career, from his unpromising youth through his remarkable successes in India and his role as junior minister in charge of Ireland, to his controversial military campaigns. With dramatic descriptions of major battles and how they might have turned out differently, the author underscores the magnitude of Wellington’s achievements. The biography is the first to address the major significance of Wellington’s political connections and shrewdness, and to set his career within the wider history of British politics and the war against Napoleon. The volume also revises Wellington’s reputation for being cold and aloof, showing instead a man of far more complex and interesting character.

Wellington's Wars: The Making of a Military Genius

by Huw J. Davies (no photo)

Synopsis:

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, lives on in popular memory as the "Invincible General," loved by his men, admired by his peers, formidable to his opponents. This incisive book revises such a portrait, offering an accurate—and controversial—new analysis of Wellington's remarkable military career. Unlike his nemesis Napoleon, Wellington was by no means a man of innate military talent, Huw J. Davies argues. Instead, the key to Wellington's military success was an exceptionally keen understanding of the relationship between politics and war.

Drawing on extensive primary research, Davies discusses Wellington's military apprenticeship in India, where he learned through mistakes as well as successes how to plan campaigns, organize and use intelligence, and negotiate with allies. In India Wellington encountered the constant political machinations of indigenous powers, and it was there that he apprenticed in the crucial skill of balancing conflicting political priorities. In later campaigns and battles, including the Peninsular War and Waterloo, Wellington's genius for strategy, operations, and tactics emerged. For his success in the art of war, he came to rely on his art as a politician and tactician. This strikingly original book shows how Wellington made even unlikely victories possible—with a well-honed political brilliance that underpinned all of his military achievements.

Jerome wrote: "An upcoming book:
Release date: December 3, 2013

Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814

by Rory Muir (no photo)

..."

There is a fascinating and extensive free online commentary to accompany Rory Muir's biography of Wellington, available at: http://www.lifeofwellington.co.uk/

It is basically material that Muir couldn't fit into the book.

Thank you very much Shannon - sorry that nobody got back to you to express our gratitude for the add.

The next volume of Muir's work:
Release date: June 9, 2015

Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1814-1852

by Rory Muir (no photo)

Synopsis:

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.

Wellington's Guns: The Untold Story of Wellington and his Artillery in the Peninsula and at Waterloo

by Nick Lipscombe (no photo)

Synopsis:

The history books have forgotten the artillery of Wellington's army during the Napoleonic Wars, but in this book Nick Lipscombe offers a study of the gunners through first-hand accounts, bringing life and color to their heroic actions.

Wellington was, without doubt, a brilliant field commander, but his leadership style was abrupt and occasionally uncompromising, especially to his artillery. He trained his infantry generals as divisional commanders but not army commanders; for his cavalry commanders he had little time often pouring scorn on their inability to control their units and formation in battle; but it was his artillery commanders that he kept at arm's length in particular, suspicious of their different chain of higher command and of their selection through ability, rather than privilege. In consequence, Wellington's relationship with his gunners was dutiful at best, and occasionally failed completely. Frequently frustrated by his lack of control and influence over the artillery off the battlefield, Wellington would occasionally over-exert his authority on it, personally deploying the guns sometimes against the advice of his experts. Wellington's personal distrust culminated in a letter to The Master General of the Ordnance in December 1815 in which he commented, 'to tell you the truth, I was not very pleased with the Artillery in the battle of Waterloo'. This resulted in the mistaken belief that the gunners performed badly at this crucial battle, supposedly abandoning their guns and fleeing the field, in direct contrast to French eyewitness accounts.

Wellington's Guns is the long overdue story of this often stormy relationship, the frustrations, challenges, the characters, and the achievements of the main protagonists as well as a detailed account of the British artillery of this period. Even with the valiant contribution of some 12,000 gunner officers, NCOs and rank and file, five battery honour titles, and numerous primary accounts, this is a story which has never been told. This despite the fact that the artillery itself was revolutionized during the course of the Napoleonic Wars from developing the vital 'danger-close' missions in the woods of Hougoumont, Belgium to the mountain gun attacks during the Pyrenean campaign of the Peninsular War and creeping barrages and Congreve rockets in all theatres, with the ultimate result that the artillery itself became a crucial component of any future and indeed modern army.

This is not the gossipy book that the title implies but instead looks at how the relationship with women (platonic and otherwise) in Wellington's life, helped shaped the man who became one of the greatest heroes in England.

Wellington the Beau: The Life and Loves of the Duke of Wellington

by Patrick Delaforce(no photo)

Synopsis:

The military achievements of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, have been well documented and deservedly so. Inevitably his fame and success made him attractive, nay irresistible, to the opposite sex and over the many years of his campaigning away from home he came into contact with a great number of beautiful and powerful ladies. Patrick Delaforce focuses in a tasteful way on these relationships which often had an important influence on the Great Man and occasionally on the shape of history. Many of his encounters were undoubtedly platonic, others certainly not.

Through Spain with Wellington: The Letters of Lieutenant Peter Le Mesurier of the 'Fighting Ninth'

by Adrian Greenwood

Synopsis:

Gazetted into the 9th Foot as an ensign in 1808, Peter Le Mesurier saw action from the earliest days of the Peninsular War almost to its end. The 'Fighting Ninth' were in the thick of it, and his letters describe nearly every major engagement of the war; the retreat to Corunna, the Walcheren Expedition, the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Burgos and San Sebastian, and the battles of Salamanca, Vitoria, the Nivelle and the Nive. The correspondence of this young officer provides a unique and fresh insight into the campaigns of Moore and Wellington against Napoleon. They also show the transformation of the boy into the man. He suffers retreats and celebrates victories, witnesses sieges, rape and plunder, and falls in love; his letters are spiced with fascinating asides, wry humour, rich period detail, some very human fears and admissions, and the casual understatement of the British officer. Any unpublished letters from the conflict are scarce, but such an extensive unpublished collection is rare indeed. With background information and commentary provided by expert Adrian Greenwood and meticulously footnoted, this is a worthy addition to the literature of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Iron Duke speaks!

Maxims and Opinions of the Duke of Wellington

by Arthur Wellesley

Synopsis:

Maxims and Opinions of the Duke of Wellington contains a short biography of the Duke, as well as a collection of his aphorisms. A table of contents is included.

Yet another biography of the Duke of Wellington

The Duke of Wellington

by Matthew John Shaw (no photo)

Synopsis:

Praised by Queen Victoria as the "greatest man this country has ever produced," the Duke of Wellington possessed an unmatched career in Britain as a soldier, politician, and statesman. A frail child, overshadowed by his siblings, he became a man of exacting preparation, determination, and tactical brilliance who paved the way for the creation of the British Empire.

The Duke of Wellington founded his career on three great military triumphs and helped to extend British rule in India, defeat the French in Portugal and Spain, and end Napoleon's ambitions. He twice served as Prime Minister and acted as British envoy and confidante to royalty during a crucial period of British history. Despite his authoritarian Tory instincts, he recognised the need for limited reform at home, and ushered in the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts and the Catholic Emancipation bill, thereby transforming the British political landscape.

Lavishly illustrated throughout by unique items from the British Library's unparalleled collections, this engaging biography of Britain's greatest general charts the life of a man whose reputation as the aloof "Iron Duke" masked strong passions and a keen awareness of his public persona.