Reissued for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo
The first Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo in 1815 is remembered as one of our nation's greatest triumphs and, two hundred years on, the 'Iron Duke' is still very much a public figure. But here, Jane Wellesley's family memoir paints an altogether more intimate and compelling portrait.
Jane journeys through the past, unearthing memories and secrets to illuminate her family tree. It is a saga peppered with fascinating characters: the 2nd Duke was a full-time eccentric and had his lawnmower pulled by an elephant; the 7th Duke, Jane's grandfather, worked for MI6; and Jane's grandmother's involvement with writer Vita Sackville-West created ripples in the Bloomsbury set as well as her marriage.
The Wellesley story shows how Wellington's descendants have lived on in the light of their ancestor's fame, and how a family is so much more than the history of one man.
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'. One and a half million people swarmed London's streets to watch his cortege pass on its way to St Paul's." "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.
An enthralling family biography of a British hero.
