The 7th Earl of Cardigan will forever be remembered as the man who led the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854.
A fatal event for so many of his men, it was to rejuvenate Cardigan's life.
Hitherto his career had been dogged by public scandal and professional disgrace: a failed marriage to a divorcee, two court appearances for adultery, two courts martials, numerous duels (which earned him the sobriquet "the homicidal earl"), and a state trial for intent to murder, but on his return from Balaclava, Cardigan was hailed as a hero.
But was Cardigan a hero?
Or was the fierce criticism of his conduct in the Crimea by fellow officers - that he treated horses badly and men worse - justified, and in keeping with his reprehensible past?
Casting Cardigan against the colourful backdrop of a country in the throws of social, political and economic revolution, Saul David unravels the enigma of this incorrigible, reprehensible and fascinatingly contradictory man, and brings him back to vibrant life.
'Meticulously researched and beautifully written ... fascinating' P. D. James, Sunday Times
'Fascinating ... well-researched and equally well-written' Andrew Roberts, The Times
'Splendid' Beryl Bainbridge, The Independent
'The genius of Saul David is in catching the man as he was - swash-buckling, ebullient; whether fighting, whoring, arguing or loving, everything was done to excess' Irish Independent
'David does history a service .. . by stressing what was good about this disreputable and often contemptible nobleman' Jan Morris, Literary Review
Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed history books, including' Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency',' Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland Division: France 1941' and 'Mutiny at Salerno'.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
A fatal event for so many of his men, it was to rejuvenate Cardigan's life.
Hitherto his career had been dogged by public scandal and professional disgrace: a failed marriage to a divorcee, two court appearances for adultery, two courts martials, numerous duels (which earned him the sobriquet "the homicidal earl"), and a state trial for intent to murder, but on his return from Balaclava, Cardigan was hailed as a hero.
But was Cardigan a hero?
Or was the fierce criticism of his conduct in the Crimea by fellow officers - that he treated horses badly and men worse - justified, and in keeping with his reprehensible past?
Casting Cardigan against the colourful backdrop of a country in the throws of social, political and economic revolution, Saul David unravels the enigma of this incorrigible, reprehensible and fascinatingly contradictory man, and brings him back to vibrant life.
'Meticulously researched and beautifully written ... fascinating' P. D. James, Sunday Times
'Fascinating ... well-researched and equally well-written' Andrew Roberts, The Times
'Splendid' Beryl Bainbridge, The Independent
'The genius of Saul David is in catching the man as he was - swash-buckling, ebullient; whether fighting, whoring, arguing or loving, everything was done to excess' Irish Independent
'David does history a service .. . by stressing what was good about this disreputable and often contemptible nobleman' Jan Morris, Literary Review
Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed history books, including' Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency',' Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland Division: France 1941' and 'Mutiny at Salerno'.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
