Download or read book Wellington written by Jane Wellesley and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2010-12-30 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A highly personal, anecdotal family memoir of the Wellington legacy. Jane Wellesley is a member of one of Britain's most illustrious families. Her father, the 8th Duke of Wellington, was born in 1915, a hundred years after the first Duke's momentous victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, but only a little over sixty years after the death of his celebrated ancestor. When the 'Iron Duke' died Queen Victoria wept with the nation, mourning the loss of 'the greatest man England has known'. A million and a half people swarmed London's streets to watch his cortege pass on its way to St Paul's. Few facts can now be added about the public man, but Jane's family memoir animates the First Duke as husband and father, as brother and several degrees of grandfather. Her journey through this richly compelling family history begins and ends with the first Duke, visiting the battlefield of Waterloo with her father to set her fascinating tale in motion. Through her parents she reaches back to earlier generations, weaving together characters and places, establishing connections, and exploring in greater depth than usual the Wellington women, who are often reduced to footnotes in conventional histories. She unearths memories, visits places from her parents' past, and discovers much about the lives of her grandparents and the generations before them. Most of us view the First Duke of Wellington as an iconic figure, whose name has been claimed by pubs, squares, streets, and, of course, rubber boots. In this highly personal account, the public man gives way to the private, and Wellington's legacy is seen through the eyes of those who have followed in his footsteps. Jane Wellesley triumphantly succeeds in wresting the Duke from his lonely column to reclaim him for his family, and so for the reader.
Download or read book Wellington written by Rory Muir and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 693 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The leading Wellington historian’s fascinating reassessment of the Iron Duke’s most famous victory and his role in the turbulent politics after Waterloo. For Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, his 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. “[An] authoritative and enjoyable conclusion to a two-part biography.” —Lawrence James, Times (London) “Muir conveys the military, political, social and personal sides of Wellington’s career with equal brilliance. This will be the leading work on the subject for decades.” —Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon and Wellington: The Long Duel
Download or read book Wellington after Waterloo written by Neville Thompson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-22 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1986. In this book Neville Thompson traces Wellington’s life after 1815 using then new archival and documentary records. The work examines the development of Wellington’s character and outlook, and assesses the significance of his persistent involvement in politics over three decades. It shows the Duke was a crucial figure in the development of the compromise between reform and the preservation of traditional institutions and practices. This title will be of interest to students of history.
Download or read book Wellington written by Norman Gash and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 1990 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors shed fresh light on the life, character and achievements of the man who is arguably the best known figure in British history--the Duke of Wellington. They reflect the new wave of Wellington studies which has resulted from the opening of the massive Wellington archive at Southampton University. Their essays provide a thematic and chronological sequence illustrating the Duke's many-faceted career, from early life to his later years, when he was the most celebrated figure in public life. Distributed by St. Martin's. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Download or read book Wellington Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1814 1852 written by Rory Muir and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The preeminent Wellington biographer presents a fascinating reassessment of the Duke’s most famous victory and his political career after Waterloo. The Duke of Wellington’s momentous victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo 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 Robert 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 legendary 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, resisting radical agitation, and granting political equality to the Catholics in Ireland. Countering one-dimensional image of Wellington as a national hero, Muir paints a nuanced portrait of a man whose austere public demeanor belied his entertaining, gossipy, generous, and unpretentious private self.
Download or read book Wellington and Waterloo written by R. E. Foster and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2014-02-03 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The events which unfolded south of Brussels on 18 June 1815 conferred instant immortality on those who took part in them. For the Duke of Wellington, Waterloo consummated victory in a long battle for what he considered to be his due recognition. Whilst he guarded that reputation jealously, he also jeopardised it by his decision to enter politics in what proved to be an especially partisan age. Even the outpouring of national grief which accompanied his death in 1852 could not totally obscure the ambivalence he had aroused in life.The memory of Waterloo, meanwhile, followed its own trajectory. Travellers initially flocked to the battlefield as if drawn by a magnet. What the triumph meant for Britain, and the wider world, moreover, became a battle in itself, one fought variously in the political, literary and artistic theatres of war. As the nineteenth century advanced, it was only Waterloo’s less-exalted participants who, relatively, faded from view – or were ignored.Drawing on many under-utilised sources to illuminate some less familiar themes, this timely study offers fresh perspectives on one of Britain’s best-known figures, as well as on the nature of heroism. The reader is also given pause for thought as to appropriate forms of commemoration and how national celebrations are prone to manipulation, for their own purposes, by those in government.
Download or read book The Iron Duke written by Lawrence James and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-04-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Lord Wellington don't know how to lose a battle.' The view of an anonymous soldier at Waterloo became the judgement of the world on the man who was hailed as the first general of his age. At Waterloo he defeated Napoleon, the master of war, and finally checked the disruptive forces of the French Revolution that had troubled Europe for over twenty years. Wellington taught himself the art of war in India where his hard-fought victories helped lay the foundations of the British raj. His armies liberated Portugal and Spain, shattered the myth of French invincibility and inspired the people of Europe to resist Napoleon. Largely drawn from original sources, Lawrence James's biography follows the life of Wellington the soldier and explains how he waged war and why he won battles. This is also the story of a humane, intelligent and acerbic aristocrat who believed that his kind were predestined to lead. It shows how he stamped his iron will on the men he commanded and how they responded. It reveals Wellington the professional fighting man who created the remarkable intelligence and logistical services that were the keys to his victories. But it was as the national hero who beat Napoleon, gave Europe peace and adhered resolutely to the path of duty that he was honoured by his countrymen who saw him as 'the highest incarnation of English character'.
Download or read book Last of the Dandies written by Nick Foulkes and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From his first appearance in London in 1821 until his death in Paris in 1852, Count D'Orsay dominated and scandalized the whole of European society. For three decades he was the ultimate arbiter in matters of taste, style and fashion -- what D'Orsay wore today, society would wear tomorrow. He also enthralled Society with the thirty-year soap opera of his relationship with Lady Blessington, whose daughter he married and with whose husband he was suspected of having had an affair. Bisexual, flamboyant and outrageous, D'Orsay was said to have ruined the cream of British aristocracy. He toured Europe on an enormous spending spree; paid homage to a dying Lord Byron in Italy, set up a racing course in Notting Hill and a gambling den in St James's. Nick Foulkes' Last of the Dandies is a vivid biography of an astonishingly flamboyant figure and a dazzling portrait of an era.
Download or read book Napoleon and Wellington written by Andrew Roberts and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the relationship between the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington prior to and in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, the most decisive battle of the nineteenth century.
Download or read book Royal Landscape written by Jane Roberts and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The parks that surround England's Windsor Castle were established in the Middle Ages for the protection of the royal deer. With the assistance of documents in the Public Record Office and the Royal Archives, and works of art in the Royal Collection, Jane Roberts has created an extensive and beautifully illustrated history of this royal acreage. 200 color & 300 b&w illustrations.
Download or read book Tom Ned and Kitty written by Eliza Pakenham and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2011-11-03 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'I am standing in the dining room of my father's house in Ireland, gazing up at ten Pakenham family portraits. What thoughts went on behind those passive, chalky faces? How can I bring them out of the shadows?' Eliza Pakenham, granddaughter of the seventh Earl of Longford, chronicles the fortunes of her colourful ancestors against the backdrop of Napoleonic wars and Irish revolutions. Through her painstaking research and discovery of hidden records, she unearthed the story of an extraordinary dynasty peppered with intriguing characters: Kitty, Duchess of Wellington, kept apart from her love for over a decade; Tom, second Earl of Longford, who fathered three illegitimate children; and Ned, the darling of the family, a war hero. Through them we learn of life in times of peace and war, of the pain of bereavement, and rapid changes in politics and society. A vivid and absorbing account of a fascinating generation, brought truthfully to life.
Download or read book The Victorian Church Part One written by Owen Chadwick and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 617 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerned here broadly with the period 1829-59, Professor Chadwick writes of the church's precarious position at the start of the period, and the problems of dissent; the Whig reform of the Church by the ministries of Peel and Melbourne; the Oxford Movement, the influence of Newman and the development of ritual; the relations of church and government under Lord John Russell; the growth of the seven principal dissenting bodies; the theory and practice of Church and State at mid-century, and the troubles that arose over eucharistic worship; and finally the unsettlement of faith and the several attempts at restatement at the close of the period. The history is completed in The Victorian Church, Part II 1860-1901.
Download or read book George IV written by Christopher Hibbert and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 851 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the most satisfying biographies of an English king: it is ample, convincing and well written”—from the acclaimed author of The House of Medici (The Times Literary Supplement). Christopher Hibbert delivers a superbly detailed picture of the life and times of George IV including his exorbitant spending on his homes, his clothes, and his women; his patronage of the arts; his “illegal” marriage to Catholic Mrs. Fitzherbert, and lesser known facts such as his generous charity donations and his witty one-liners, including one he uttered when he met his bride-to-be (Caroline of Brunswick) for the first time: “Harris, I am not well, fetch me a brandy.” George IV was the son of George III (who went insane and inspired The Madness of King George) and was the founder of the prestigious King’s College in London. “A delight to read . . . an enormously enjoyable and skillful portrait.” —Philip Ziegler, The Spectator “Christopher Hibbert’s George IV is at once soundly based on research in the Royal Archives at Windsor and a rollicking good read. I found it invaluable when I was researching The Unruly Queen, my life of George IV’s wife, Queen Caroline, and I recommend it to anyone interested by George IV’s flamboyant and outrageous personality.” —Flora Fraser, author of Flora Macdonald: “Pretty Young Rebel”
Download or read book Prince of Pleasure written by Saul David and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this title, a chronicle of the scandalous reign of England's George IV captures the sexual intrigue and financial improvidence that that helped define the Regency period and also notes this complex King's intelligence and advocacy of the arts.
Download or read book The Unruly Queen written by Flora Fraser and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-03-11 with total page 701 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Splendid ... her book does justice to a fascinating woman who was tragic, brave, likable, humorous, and indeed, unruly' Spectator 'Written with elegance, wit and a narrative zest that novelists might envy' Economist At the heart of the extravagant Regency period – nine scandalous, politically fascinating years from 1811 to 1820 – lies the bitter mismatch between the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Prince Regent, later George IV, separated privately from Caroline of Brunswick within a year of their marriage in 1795. The couple remained separated until Queen Caroline's death in 1821, but the mockery of their marriage resisted the most strenuous efforts to dissolve it. Barred from the Regent's court, Queen Caroline travelled through Europe with a small court of her own. The story of The Unruly Queen – a long, courageous fight by an extraordinary individual to see justice done in the face of overbearing authority – is compellingly told by Flora Fraser. This astonishing book culminates with the Queen's House of Lords trial for adultery and exclusion from her bigamous husband's coronation.
Download or read book George IV Regent and King 1811 1830 written by Christopher Hibbert and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1975 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The personality of the eloquent and unpredictable British monarch is the central focus of a detailed and well-research biography.
Download or read book Opium and the Romantic Imagination written by Alethea Hayter and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2015-07-30 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the habit of taking drugs make authors write better, or worse, or differently? Does it alter the quality of their consciousness, shape their imagery, influence their technique? For the Romantic writers of the nineteenth century, many of whom experimented with opium and some of whom were addicted to it, this was an important question, but it has never been fully answered. In this study Alethea Hayter examines the work of five writers - Crabbe, Coleridge, De Quincey, Wilkie Collins and Francis Thompson - who were opium addicts for many years, and of several other writers - notably Keats, Edgar Allan Poe and Baudelaire, but also Walter Scott, Dickens, Mrs Browning, James Thomson and others - who are known to have taken opium at times. The work of these writers is discussed in the context of nineteenth-century opinion about the uses and dangers of opium, and of Romantic ideas on the creative imagination, on dreams and hypnagogic visions, and on imagery, so that the idiosyncrasies of opium-influenced writing can be isolated from their general literary background. The examination reveals a strange and miserable region of the mind in which some of the greatest poetic imaginations of the nineteenth century were imprisoned.
