Portland Public Library

Wellington, Rory Muir

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Wellington

bibliography

843228762

Rory Muir

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. -- Publisher description

Vol. 1. The path to victory, 1769-1814 -- Pt. I: Obscurity and dependence -- Pt. II: India and independence -- Pt. III: War, politics, fame and controversy -- Pt. IV: Adversity and triumph in the peninsula -- vol. 2. Waterloo and the fortunes of peace, 1814-1852. War and peace in Europe, 1814-18 (Celebrations and diplomacy, April 1814-March 1815 ; The return of Napoleon, March-June 1815 ; Quatre Bras, 15-17 June 1815 ; Waterloo, 18 June 1815 ; Peacemaking in Paris, June-December 1815 ; The occupation of France, 1816-18) ; In cabinet, 1819-27 (Politics and the duke ; The radical challenge, 1819 ; The Queen's affair, 1820-21 ; The King and his ministers, 1821-22 ; Verona and Spain, 1822-23 ; Latin America and the Catholic question, 1823-25 ; The last year of Liverpool's government, December 1825-February 1827 ; Master-General of the Ordnance, 1818-27 ; Family and friends, 1819-27 ; The ins and outs of 1827) ; Prime minister, 1828-30 (Cabinet-making, January-June 1828 ; Catholic emancipation, 1828-29 ; The foreign policy of Wellington's government, 1828-July 1830 ; Domestic difficulties, May 1829-July 1830 ; The fall of Wellington's government, July-November 1830) ; Out of office, 1830-41 (Opposing the Reform Bill, November 1830-June 1832 ; The limits of opposition, 1832-35 ; Private life, 1828-35 ; The many faces of fame ; Leading the Lords, 1835-41 ; Wellington and the army, 1819-41) ; Back in harness, 1841-52 (Peel's lieutenant, 1841-46 ; Commander-in-Chief, 1842-52 ; In the midst of life, 1842-52)