Pen & Sword’s Napoleonic publishing caters for Napoleonic enthusiasts and for newcomers to this fascinating era of military history.
The range is wide, from campaign histories, biographies and memoirs to studies of battles and battlefield guides. Reissues of classic works of Napoleonic literature feature in the list, but it also includes outstanding, sometimes controversial new scholarship.
Readers who are keen to broaden their understanding of the Napoleonic Wars will gain a critical insight through the variety of books we publish on the subject.
This is not just another book about the Battle of Waterloo: the author, a Senior Lecturer in History and War Studies at York St John University, presents a detailed analysis of the attack of Comte D’Erlon’s I Corps, described as ‘one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy’ in the Duke of Wellington’s Waterloo Dispatch, that has - until now - not had a single book entirely devoted to it, unlike the defence of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, or the final attack by the French Imperial Guard. Even Captain William Siborne’s model has been the subject of two books! In Chapter 1, Openings, the author explains that his focus will require analysis of the build-up of the two opposing armies and of their movements in the campaign before the battle, because ‘assessing the formation of the army, the previous service of the troops, and how they were equipped, nourished, and led, is vital to judging the cohesion, character, and confidence of the men who marched into battle.’ This.. Read more
Miniature Wargames
This is not just another book about the Battle of Waterloo: the author, a Senior Lecturer in History and War Studies at York St John University, presents a detailed analysis of the attack of Comte D’Erlon’s I Corps, described as ‘one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy’ in the Duke of Wellington’s Waterloo Dispatch, that has - until now - not had a single book entirely devoted to it, unlike the defence of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, or the final attack by the French Imperial Guard. Even Captain William Siborne’s model has been the subject of two books! In Chapter 1, Openings, the author explains that his focus will require analysis of the build-up of the two opposing armies and of their movements in the campaign before the battle, because ‘assessing the formation of the army, the previous service of the troops, and how they were equipped, nourished, and led, is vital to judging the cohesion, character, and confidence of the men who marched into battle.’ This.. Read more
Miniature Wargames
Louis Davout is often overlooked in discussions of Napoleon’s marshals. Perhaps not as quintessentially dashing as Murat or as suicidally daring as Ney, Davout was nevertheless a loyal, and above all, successful marshal who is deserving of this new, and very detailed analysis. Martin Sullivan has produced a valuable piece of work in this book, which is part biography, part historical narrative, and part leadership analysis. The work uses the campaign of 1809 and the key battle of Wagram as a vehicle to demonstrate the personal competency of Davout as a field commander, along with key lessons of senior leadership, which might be equally applied to business and management in the modern world, as much as to a Napoleonic battlefield. The narrative is clear, logical, and well-paced, and the explanation of this complex campaign is aided enormously by two useful tactics. Firstly, the author has included, at regular intervals, the correspondence written and shared by the key figures with their.. Read more
Andrew Johnson, University of Bolton Manchester, October 2024
Louis Davout is often overlooked in discussions of Napoleon’s marshals. Perhaps not as quintessentially dashing as Murat or as suicidally daring as Ney, Davout was nevertheless a loyal, and above all, successful marshal who is deserving of this new, and very detailed analysis. Martin Sullivan has produced a valuable piece of work in this book, which is part biography, part historical narrative, and part leadership analysis. The work uses the campaign of 1809 and the key battle of Wagram as a vehicle to demonstrate the personal competency of Davout as a field commander, along with key lessons of senior leadership, which might be equally applied to business and management in the modern world, as much as to a Napoleonic battlefield. The narrative is clear, logical, and well-paced, and the explanation of this complex campaign is aided enormously by two useful tactics. Firstly, the author has included, at regular intervals, the correspondence written and shared by the key figures with their.. Read more
Andrew Johnson, University of Bolton Manchester, October 2024
Subtitled The Peninsular War Letters of William, George and Charles Napier, this book contains extracts from the original private letters and journals of the three Napier brothers and those of fellow officers, written while they were on campaign, without the distortion of hindsight that affects later writings. All three bothers served with distinction in the Peninsular War and were wounded on active service. Charles, the oldest, was commissioned an ensign in the 33rd Foot in January 1794 and became a lieutenant in the 89th Foot in May of the same year, aged eleven! In May 1806 he was promoted to a majority in the Cape Corps, from which he exchanged into the 50th Foot, which he commanded at Corunna, being wounded five times and taken prisoner. After being exchanged in January 1810, he served as a volunteer in the Light Brigade, was aide de camp to General Craufurd at the Coa and was then attached to Wellington’s staff. At Busaco he was shot in the face, his jaw broken and his eye injured... Read more
Arthur Harman, Miniature Wargames
Subtitled The Peninsular War Letters of William, George and Charles Napier, this book contains extracts from the original private letters and journals of the three Napier brothers and those of fellow officers, written while they were on campaign, without the distortion of hindsight that affects later writings. All three bothers served with distinction in the Peninsular War and were wounded on active service. Charles, the oldest, was commissioned an ensign in the 33rd Foot in January 1794 and became a lieutenant in the 89th Foot in May of the same year, aged eleven! In May 1806 he was promoted to a majority in the Cape Corps, from which he exchanged into the 50th Foot, which he commanded at Corunna, being wounded five times and taken prisoner. After being exchanged in January 1810, he served as a volunteer in the Light Brigade, was aide de camp to General Craufurd at the Coa and was then attached to Wellington’s staff. At Busaco he was shot in the face, his jaw broken and his eye injured... Read more
Arthur Harman, Miniature Wargames
[link=https://www.napoleon-series.org/book-reviews/books-on-military-subjects/wellingtons-light-division-and-the-defence-of-portugal-the-battles-of-1811/]BOOK REVIEW[/link]
The Napoleon Series
[link=https://www.napoleon-series.org/book-reviews/books-on-military-subjects/wellingtons-light-division-and-the-defence-of-portugal-the-battles-of-1811/]BOOK REVIEW[/link]
The Napoleon Series
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
This is a British account of the Battle of Waterloo, I have never really read an in-depth account of the battle so I found this to be interesting. I also found that the French generals would blame each other for the defeat as some would during WWI. Yet the man who should be held accountable is Napoleon, for he would have wanted all of the praise if by some chance they defeated the British. A very good and really good look at the battle and the participants.
NetGalley, Pat Lorelli
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
This is a British account of the Battle of Waterloo, I have never really read an in-depth account of the battle so I found this to be interesting. I also found that the French generals would blame each other for the defeat as some would during WWI. Yet the man who should be held accountable is Napoleon, for he would have wanted all of the praise if by some chance they defeated the British. A very good and really good look at the battle and the participants.
NetGalley, Pat Lorelli
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HMS Victory
HMS Victory is probably the best-known historic ship in the world. A symbol of the Royal Navy's achievements during the great age of sail, she is based in Portsmouth and seen by tens of thousands of visitors each year. As is the case for many historic ships, however, there is a surprising shortage of informative and well illustrated guides, for reference… Read more...
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Russian Eyewitness Accounts of the Campaign of 1814
Russia played a decisive role in the Napoleonic wars and the success in the struggle against France allowed Russian leaders to profoundly influence the course of European history. Over the last 200 years, the Napoleonic era has been discussed and analysed in numerous studies, but many fail to fully portray the Russian side of events due to the relative… Read more...
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Wellington's Worst Scrape
The disastrous retreat and near disintegration of Sir John Moore's army on the road to Corunna in 1809 is traditionally regarded as the low point in the history of the British intervention in the Peninsular War. Yet under the Duke of Wellington the British and their allies suffered defeats and retreats that tend to be overshadowed by the series of… Read more...
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Napoleonic Lives
Two hundred years ago the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars convulsed the whole of Europe. These were key events in the history of the continent, and for Britain, and they are a fascinating field for historical – and family history – research. More records than ever are available on the men who served in the British army during the wars – and… Read more...
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Wellington's Highland Warriors
'Stuart Reid tells a great tale, deeply researched and full of fascinating characters.' Tim Newark, author of Highlander Wellington's Highland Warriors covers the early history of the British Army's highland regiments, from the raising of the Black Watch in 1739 to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Stuart Reid provides an entertaining and thoroughly… Read more...
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Nelson's Battles
Horatio Nelson was a hero from the time when his dramatic initiative won the battle of St Vincent in 1797, while his last battle, at Trafalgar, reduced the enemy naval forces so thoroughly that they were no longer able to have any bearing on the outcome of the war. As well as being a brilliant study of those naval battles which played such an important… Read more...
Hougoumont & D'Erlon's Attack is the second part in the explosive four part series, The Waterloo Collection, which covers the entire Waterloo Campaign from Napoleon's return to France and ensuing battles to his final pursuit and eventual surrender to the British. Following on from Ligny and Quatre Bras, Part II starts by focusing on the concentration… Read more...
The Waterloo Collection. This is the first part of a suite of programmes that will cover the Waterloo Campaign as a whole, from the concentration of the Armies astride the north eastern frontier of France, through to the Allied pursuit of Napoleon's defeated army to Paris. Over the coming months the Waterloo Collection of four DVDs, with a running… Read more...
Military histories of the struggle against the French armies of the Revolution and Napoleon often focus on the exploits of elite units and famous individuals, ignoring the essential contribution made by the ordinary soldiers - the bulk of the British army. Carole Divall, in this graphic and painstakingly researched account, tells the story of one such… Read more...