The Sunday Times Number 1 Bestseller A fabulous story superbly told cannot be bettered' Max Hastings Some battles change nothing Waterloo changed almost everything' On the 18th June 1815 the armies of France Britain & Prussia descended upon a quiet valley south of Brussels In the previous three days the French army had beaten the British at Quatre-Bras & the Prussians at Ligny The Allies were in retreat The blood-soaked battle of Waterloo would become a landmark in European history to be examined over & again not least because until the evening of the 18th the French army was close to prevailing on the battlefield Now brought to life by the celebrated novelist Bernard Cornwell this is the chronicle of the four days leading up to the actual battle & a thrilling hour-by-hour account of that fateful day In his first work of non-fiction 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 & gore of the battlefields Through letters & diaries he also sheds new light on the private thoughts of Napoleon & the Duke of Wellington as well as the ordinary officers & soldiers Published to coincide with the bicentenary in 2015 Waterloo is a tense & gripping story of heroism & tragedy
- & of the final battle that determined the fate of Europe