Sir Garnet Wolseley

Field Marshal Lord Wolseley was aneminent Victorian, one of a handful of latenineteenth-century military men whosereputation transcends his age. He servedthe British empire in Burma, India, China,the Crimea, Canada, Asante, Egypt, SouthAfrica and the Sudan. He excelled as aregimental soldier, staff officer, armycommander and reformer and eventuallycommander-in-chief. Yet there has beenno substantial work on Wolseley for ageneration and a reassessment based upon afresh look at the man and his achievementsis long overdue. That is why StephenManning's perceptive military biography,which sets Wolseley firmly in the context ofhis period and seeks to strip away the legendthat developed during his lifetime, is sotimely and important. Each of Wolseley's campaigns is examinedin vivid detail and there are graphicdescriptions of the major battles in which hetook part, either as an officer or a general.His performance as a commander, from hisgreat success during the expedition againstthe Asante to his failure to rescue Gordonfrom Khartoum, is critically assessed to seeif he deserves his brilliant reputation. Hisefforts as an army reformer are examinedtoo, in particular whether he could havedone more to prepare Britain for waragainst the Boers. Stephen Manning's incisive account ofWolseley's career will be fascinating readingfor anyone who is interested in the Britisharmy in the nineteenth century, in colonialwarfare and in the exploits of one of QueenVictoria's most admired generals.