Waterloo
Man of many parts
William Boyd taps into the classical novel tradition with this sweeping tale of one man’s century-spanning life, even to the…
A devilish assignment
It has been 15 years since the last Richard Sharpe novel, and it’s a pleasure to report that fiction’s most…
The long and the short and the tall
The French have a love-hate relationship with heroes. For the great 19th-century historian Jules Michelet, the French Revolution was supposed…
The abbey habit
The world may be going to hell in a handcart but some things remain reassuringly unchanged: Julian Fellowes period dramas…
The history of Britain’s secret war on Napoleon is astonishing, inspiring and disturbing
Laws and sausages, we know, are better not seen in the making; and neither are ‘black ops’. Waterloo may have…
A break from sabre-thrusting
Allan Mallinson’s historical series concerning Matthew Hervey, the well-bred, thoughtful soldier, details a world where men are practical and not…
Making faces
The history of portraiture is festooned with images of sitters overwhelmed by dress, setting and the accoutrements of worldly success.…
One dark summer’s day
Of all the big battalions of books marking the bicentenary of the battle of Waterloo that have come my way,…
Napoleon’s last victory
If you visit Waterloo today, there’s no question which general comes out on top
The making of the myth
Writing about Napoleon is a risky business. It exposes the author to the brickbats of the blind worshippers for whom…
