Wellington's Lieutenant Napoleon's Gaoler : The Peninsula Letters and St. Helena Diaries of Sir George Rideout

Hardback. The letters and diaries of Colonel Sir George Ridout Bingham represent an important historical find. Not only was the author the commanding officer of an infantry regiment but, once the war against Napoleon was won, he was selected to accompany the deposed Emperor on his journey into exile and be his guardian on St. Helena. Fortunately Bingham was not only a lucid writer but an honest observer. He never hesitated to describe his fellow officers, particularly his seniors, in the frankest of terms. He also possessed a sharp sense of humour, which has stood the test of time. Through this correspondence, we gain the clearest of pictures of command and soldiering conditions during that brutal, but ultimately victorious, campaign in Spain and Portugal. It is, of course, Bingham's privileged access to Napoleon that makes this book of particular importance. His diaries provide a splendid contemporary account of Napoleon's fall from power and the trauma he suffered in captivity. Written up on a dialy basis, the entries are untained by bias and were never intended for publication. Aftet the journey out on HMS Nothumberland, Bingham remained with Napoleon on St. Helena until relieved in 1818. This book will fascinate not just Penisula War and Napoleonic enthusiast but more general readers who wish to get a feel for one of the most dramatic periods of our history from an insider's viewpoint. Illustrated. 310 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions etc.). …