Wellington: The Years of the Sword was written in 1969 by Elizabeth Longford, a descendent of her subject. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, was as close to being the British Army’s version of the Navy’s Lord Nelson as anyone got. If you want a short biography, try this Victorian Web page. The book, as the title suggests, delves into his military career deeply. Since I selected this biography based on Bernard Cornwell’s recommendation, no surprises, but welcome factual details and even a few (not enough) diagrams and maps. It’s not incredibly well-written, and it’s admiring enough to remind you that she’s writing about a relative, but it’s quite readable. Still, I’m looking forward to the fictional accounts of the Peninsular campaign more than ever.
I’ve seen this book before, so I think it must be in my mother or father’s house on a bookshelf somewhere, though I’m returning it to the San Francisco library tomorrow.