PENINSULAR SKETCHES; BY ACTORS ON THE SCENE.

2001 reprint + index. 2 vols 390pp and 388pp B&W platesPublished Price £22 Eyewitness accounts and memoirs written by the soldiers who experienced the Peninsular War at first hand have long been prized for the immediacy with which they portray life in Wellington's army and the often brutal realities of campaigning. William Hamilton Maxwell's two-volume Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene brings together some of the finest examples of this important body of testimony.Maxwell, the distinguished Anglo-Irish military historian and writer, skilfully assembled these personal recollections into a compelling narrative of the war. This modern revised edition makes these long-unavailable volumes accessible once again to students and enthusiasts of Wellington's campaigns.Volume One includes a substantial introduction by military historian Stanley Monick, comprising a biography of Maxwell, an outline of the Peninsular War and detailed notes and commentary on the individual sketches. Both volumes are further enhanced by comprehensive indexes compiled by Dr Monick.The first volume carries the reader through some of the most dramatic episodes of the campaign, including the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, the bloody assault and subsequent sack of Badajoz, and Wellington's great victory at Salamanca.Volume Two continues from the capture of Madrid through the decisive victory at Vitoria, the passage of Wellington's army across the Pyrenees and the invasion of southern France, culminating in the final advance upon Toulouse.Long out of print and increasingly difficult to obtain in their original form, these volumes offer vivid first-hand testimony from the men who experienced the Peninsular War. Now available again at a modest price, they deserve a place on the shelves of every serious student and enthusiast of Wellington's army and the Napoleonic Wars.…