Brussels, June 1815. The Duke of Wellington was marshalling the Allied forces in readiness to fight Napoleon, who had escaped from Elba in February that year. The many British living in the city at the time were enjoying cricket matches, race-meetings and picnics despite the threat of war.
On the fifteenth, the ambitious Charlotte, Duchess of Richmond, held what was to become the most famous Ball in history, since it was interrupted by the news that Napoleon had attacked the Prussian army earlier that day. Pale girls in lily-hued dresses said tearful goodbyes to sweethearts and brothers who raced from the ballroom to battlefields of the Waterloo campaign with terrifying speed when the news broke.
Published to coincide with the Waterloo bicentary, the book recounts the experiences of those at the ball, and the surprising coincidence that Wellington's despatch was presented to the Prince Regent at another ball, six momentous days later.
On the fifteenth, the ambitious Charlotte, Duchess of Richmond, held what was to become the most famous Ball in history, since it was interrupted by the news that Napoleon had attacked the Prussian army earlier that day. Pale girls in lily-hued dresses said tearful goodbyes to sweethearts and brothers who raced from the ballroom to battlefields of the Waterloo campaign with terrifying speed when the news broke.
Published to coincide with the Waterloo bicentary, the book recounts the experiences of those at the ball, and the surprising coincidence that Wellington's despatch was presented to the Prince Regent at another ball, six momentous days later.
