Crimea

The Crimean War is one of the most compelling subjects in British history. Everyone knows about the Charge of the Light Brigade and men like Raglan and Cardigan, have become household names. The story of Florence Nightingale, 'the Lady with the Lamp', and the heroic reporting of William Russell, THE TIMES' intrepid correspondent, and the sonorous names of the battles, are ingrained deep within the British military consciousness - Sebastopol, Inkerman, Balaclava and the Alma.

Trevor Royle demonstrates how the Crimean War was a watershed in world history: coming between the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and the opening shots of the First World War in 1914 it pointed the way to what mass warfare would be like for soldiers in the twentieth century.

Trevor Royle is a well-known writer and broadcaster on military history. His previous books include Orde Wingate, Crimea, Civil War and The Wars of the Roses. He is a columnist for the Sunday Herald, writing on international affairs and defence-related topics, and also writes scripts for the BBC. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.