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". The book reveals this very human character, bringing together in one paperback the two-volume hardback edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
The Countess of Longford is a CBE, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Hon. D.Litt of Sussex University. She is the author of several much-acclaimed works of biography.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Second volume of the definitive biography of Wellington,
By Dr. Kenneth Dawson (dawsonk@u.washington.edu) (Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, The University of Washington) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wellington: Pillar of State (v. 2) (Paperback)
Wellington - Pillar of State is the second volume of Countess Longford's definitive two part biography of Arthur, First Duke of Wellington. Longford uses her access to family records of her distant relative to provide insight into the period from Waterloo (1815) through the Duke's career in politics and civil society, until his death in 1852. The work is thoroughly referenced and cannot be over praised.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best biography of Wellington available.,
This review is from: Wellington: Pillar of State (v. 2) (Paperback)
This exhaustingly researched biography is truly a great work. The author is a descendent of the Duchess of Wellington and, with her access to the personal correspondence of these historical figures, has given the reader a most complete picture of Arthur Wellesley. Lady Longford is critical when need be, but her obvious admiration for the Duke does shine through. With all the biographies of Napoleon on display everywhere, it's great to see a work about the gentleman who sent that tyrant into early retirment.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An introduction to the Iron Duke,
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This review is from: Wellington (Sutton Pocket Biographies) (Hardcover)
Elizabeth Longford's "Wellington" is a very short introductory life of the First Duke of Wellington. It is derivative of her full-length biographies of Wellington and Queen Victoria but manages to be solidly informative without being overwhelming. Longford, in highly readable prose, provides a fast moving survey of the military and political life of Arthur Wellesley, weaving in the kinds of personal details that hang a more human face on a man and a time much mythologized. This work is clearly intended for the general reader; serious students of the Duke should track down Longford's two volume biography ("Years of the Sword" and "Pillar of the State"). Those looking for a detailed military biography should also seek elsewhere; this volume only lightly skims the surface of Wellington's long military career. This is the kind of book a serious student of Wellington provides as an introduction to the subject to his less serious friends and relatives.
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