Customer Reviews

Wellington

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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.

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.

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.

This is an absurdly abridged edition of Elizabeth Lonford's magnificent biography of the Iron Duke. The 1,400 pages of the original two volumes have been abridged to one tenth of their original length. The result is a book that maybe could be useful for children in elementary school. I own a one-volume abridged paper back version published in England and it runs over 500 pages. Avoid this edition, but do look for the original two volume version. You will not be disappointed.

Could not put down either volume, though the second gets bogged down somewhat in the nuances of mid-19th century British politics. Author's descriptions of the Duke's "Sword" volume battles are, frankly, the finest recreations of warfare I have ever read! Vivid, detailed, sensitive to the sacrifices and the strategies. It is a cliche to say "you are there", but, in this case, remarkably true.