Waterloo: the history of four days, three armies and three battles. Bernard Cornwell. 2014.

On the 18th June 1815 the three armies of France, Britain and Prussia descended upon a quiet valley south of Brussels. In the previous three days the French army had beaten the Prussians at Ligny and fought the British to a standstill at Quatre-Bras. The Allies were in retreat. The little village north of where they turned to fight the French army was called Waterloo. The blood soaked battle to which it gave its name would become a landmark in European history.

In his first work of non-fiction, Bernard Cornwell combines his storytelling skills with a meticulously researched history to give a riveting account of every dramatic moment, from Napoleon’s escape from Elba to the smoke and gore of the three battlefields and their aftermath. Through quotes from the letters and diaries of Emperor Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington and the ordinary officers and soldiers, he brings to life how it actually felt to fight these famous battles.