Lady De Lancey at Waterloo (A Story of Duty and Devotion)

This book tells the tragic story of William De Lancey, who became one of the first professional staff officers in the British Army, worked for Wellington throughout the Penisular War, and was his chief-of-staff at the Battle of Waterloo. His wife Magdelene Hall led a sheltered life until, having been married barely a month, she accompanied her husband to Brussels, was parted from him by the Waterloo campaign, found him afterwards wounded, and then nursed him for ten days until he died. Out of the tragedy of his death came a widow's moving tribute to her dead husband, the poignancy of which has not diminished with time. This fascinating story allows the reader a view at the personal level of the wide-ranging effects of the Battle of Waterloo. David Miller's incisive study features a reproduction of the authentic text of the abridged version of Lady De Lancey's Narrative—the story in the words of the lady herself—and includes an analysis and historiography of this important source from the Napoleonic period.