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Peter Hofschröer
Peter Hofschröer tells the remarkable story of William Siborne, a Lieutenant in the British Army and expert in topography, who was commissioned to make a vast scale model of Waterloo, incorporating seventy-five thousand tin-lead soldiers and stretching over four hundred square feet. Buy why - at a time when celebrations of England's finest hour at Waterloo were so in vogue, and Wellington's fame was at its peak - did this exquisite model gain Siborne the enmity of the Duke and ultimately lead to his own ruin? If history is always written by the victor, never was this more true than Waterloo. Now, to correct a long injustice, Peter Hofschröer reveals the truth of one man's all-consuming and ruinous passion for historical accuracy. Mightily impressive... I remain a fan of the Duke of Wellington. But, as this well-researched book demonstrates, he was jealous of his reputation, and brought his weight to bear on accounts that conflicted with his own. Captain William Siborne, whose Waterloo model was such a towering achievement, became one of the battle’s last casualties: Peter Hofschröer gives him the credit he has so long deserved. Richard Holmes, author of Redcoat A first-class work of historical investigation which shows that even the greatest of men can occasionally fall prey to vanity and pettiness. Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon and Wellington A remarkable journey into obsession, glory and the making of history. Mark Urban, author of Rifles
Peter Hofschröer, a specialist in Napoleonic history, is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning two-volume study 1815 – The Waterloo Campaign (Greenhill Books), and has contributed a number of titles to the Osprey series, particularly on the Napoleonic Prussians. He advised Channel 4 on the programme, Napoleon’s Waterloo. Reviews: The Fondation Napoléon, The Napoleon Series
Published by Faber &
Faber Ltd., London 2004 Text and Illustrations © 2004 Faber & Faber Ltd. |
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