Wellington: A New Biography (Sutton Pocket Biographies)

Rating:
Summary: An introduction to the Iron Duke
Review: Elizabeth Longford's "Wellington" is a very short introductory life of the 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.