
British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Colin Fluxman
About this listen
"Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won." (Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo)
In September 1852 a steam train carried the body of Arthur Wellesley, first duke of Wellington, from Kent to London, where he was to be interred at St. Paul's Cathedral. A million would flock to pay their final respects at his huge funeral, and young Queen Victoria wept openly.
By the time of his death, Wellington had been prime minister twice, a shrewd personal advisor to four British monarchs, and one of the nation's most prominent politicians for three decades. Despite his nearly four decades of peacetime service in and out of politics, Wellington has remained one of the titans of the 19th century because of one June day in 1815. Then, as now, the duke of Wellington is best remembered for defeating Napoleon in the famous battle of Waterloo.
The fact Wellington is remembered for Waterloo belies his extraordinary military career, which saw him come up through fighting in the Netherlands and India before opposing Napoleon's forces on the Iberian Peninsula. By the time Wellington took command of allied forces during the 100 Days Campaign and decisively finished the Napoleonic Era at Waterloo, he had participated in about 60 battles and was one of Britain's greatest war heroes.
Historical memory of Wellington often stops there, but he spent half his lifetime in politics after Waterloo, serving as a prime minister in the 1820s and an influential Tory in the House of Lords in the 1830s and 1840s, serving all the while as commander in chief of Britain's military. Though he had earned the nickname Iron Duke at the height of his political unpopularity, the originally derisive nickname came to represent his stern will and personality.
Includes a bibliography for further reading.
©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River EditorsListeners also enjoyed...
-
Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 32 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.
-
-
What a dynamo!
- By Tad Davis on 01-16-15
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Wellington’s Scum
- The History and Legacy of the British Army During the Napoleonic Wars
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wellington’s Scum: The History and Legacy of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars examines the history of the British Army during one of history’s most pivotal eras. You will learn about the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars like never before.
-
Waterloo
- The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Bernard Cornwell, Dugald Bruce Lockhart
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author comes the definitive history of one of the greatest battles ever fought - a riveting nonfiction chronicle published to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of Napoleon's last stand.
-
-
Not a close run thing!
- By carl801 on 05-13-15
By: Bernard Cornwell
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815
- From Elba to Ligny and Quatre Bras Volume I
- By: John Hussey
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 34 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first of two ground-breaking volumes on the Waterloo campaign, this audiobook is based upon a detailed analysis of sources old and new in four languages. It highlights the political stresses between the Allies, the problems of feeding and paying for the Allied forces assembling in Belgium during the undeclared war and how a strategy was thrashed out. It studies the neglected topic of how the Allies beyond the Rhine hampered the plans of Blücher and Wellington, thus allowing Napoleon to snatch the initiative from them.
-
-
Excellent: Where is Volume 2
- By History Reader on 12-11-20
By: John Hussey
-
Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 50 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we seek an example of great leaders with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader immune from the consensus of the day, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of Nazi Germany when bombs rained on London and so many others had caved? In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman, and leader can finally be fully understood.
-
-
Superb Biography
- By Jean on 03-03-19
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 32 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.
-
-
What a dynamo!
- By Tad Davis on 01-16-15
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Wellington’s Scum
- The History and Legacy of the British Army During the Napoleonic Wars
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wellington’s Scum: The History and Legacy of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars examines the history of the British Army during one of history’s most pivotal eras. You will learn about the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars like never before.
-
Waterloo
- The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Bernard Cornwell, Dugald Bruce Lockhart
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author comes the definitive history of one of the greatest battles ever fought - a riveting nonfiction chronicle published to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of Napoleon's last stand.
-
-
Not a close run thing!
- By carl801 on 05-13-15
By: Bernard Cornwell
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815
- From Elba to Ligny and Quatre Bras Volume I
- By: John Hussey
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 34 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first of two ground-breaking volumes on the Waterloo campaign, this audiobook is based upon a detailed analysis of sources old and new in four languages. It highlights the political stresses between the Allies, the problems of feeding and paying for the Allied forces assembling in Belgium during the undeclared war and how a strategy was thrashed out. It studies the neglected topic of how the Allies beyond the Rhine hampered the plans of Blücher and Wellington, thus allowing Napoleon to snatch the initiative from them.
-
-
Excellent: Where is Volume 2
- By History Reader on 12-11-20
By: John Hussey
-
Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 50 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we seek an example of great leaders with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader immune from the consensus of the day, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of Nazi Germany when bombs rained on London and so many others had caved? In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman, and leader can finally be fully understood.
-
-
Superb Biography
- By Jean on 03-03-19
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Nelson's Trafalgar
- The Battle That Changed the World
- By: Roy Adkins
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, Nelson's Trafalgar presents the definitive blow-by-blow account of the world's most famous naval battle, when the British Royal Navy, under Lord Horatio Nelson, dealt a decisive blow to the forces of Napoleon. The Battle of Trafalgar comes boldly to life in this definitive work that recreates those five momentous, earsplitting hours with unrivaled detail and intensity.
-
-
kiss me hardy!!!!
- By frank on 05-09-23
By: Roy Adkins
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
-
-
Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
-
-
An Absolutely SUPERB Book for Lovers of History
- By Dipam on 06-27-21
By: Peter Frankopan
-
Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
-
-
Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
-
D-Day
- June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WW II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen E. Ambrose draws from hundreds of interviews with US Army veterans and the brave Allied soldiers who fought alongside them to create this exceptional account of the day that shaped the twentieth century. D-Day is above all the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their existence, when the horrors, complexities and triumphs of life are laid bare and courage and heroism come to the fore.
-
-
What an epic story what great men
- By Michael on 02-12-14
-
The American Civil War
- By: Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gary W. Gallagher
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.
-
-
Excellent Series
- By Rodney on 07-09-13
By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
-
The Swamp Fox
- How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution
- By: John Oller
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the darkest days of the American Revolution, Francis Marion and his band of militia freedom fighters kept hope alive for the patriot cause during the critical British southern campaign. Like the Robin Hood of legend, Marion and his men attacked from secret hideaways before melting back into the forest or swamp. Employing insurgent tactics that became commonplace in later centuries, Marion and his brigade inflicted losses on the enemy that were individually small but cumulatively a large drain on British resources and morale.
-
-
The Swamp Fox - Francis Marion
- By Stephen on 06-07-17
By: John Oller
-
Philip and Alexander
- Kings and Conquerors
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Neil Dickson
- Length: 20 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This definitive biography of one of history's most influential father-son duos tells the story of two rulers who gripped the world - and their rise and fall from power.
-
-
Horrible narrator
- By Anonymous User on 01-05-21
-
In Search of a Kingdom
- Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire
- By: Laurence Bergreen
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan, Columbus, and Marco Polo brings alive the singular life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, the pirate/explorer/admiral whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.
-
-
Better than the text
- By Bramante on 04-07-21
-
Caesar
- Life of a Colossus
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some 2,000 years later.
-
-
Caesar and his times
- By Mike From Mesa on 08-31-15
-
Napoleon
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paul Johnson's book is a refreshing return to a concept whose time has come once again: the Great Man theory of biography. It serves as "the greatest possible refutation of those who hold that events are governed by forces, classes, economics, and geography rather than the powerful wills of men and women". Napoleon truly was the Great Man of his age, a towering and terrible genius who managed to conquer the Continent.
-
-
Not your standard biography
- By Mark Grannis on 04-24-05
By: Paul Johnson
-
Aaron Burr: A Captivating Guide to the Life of Aaron Burr and the Most Famous Duel in American History
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on his early achievements, Aaron Burr, Jr., should have become an obscure but respected figure in American history. An officer in the Continental Army, a high-flying lawyer, and an influential politician, his career peak was becoming the third vice president in US history. But after all these achievements, Burr's name is now associated with corruption and cruelty. He killed a man in an illegal duel while in office, and interest in that man, Alexander Hamilton, has revived Burr's reputation as one of history's villains. Who was Aaron Burr?
-
-
accurate historical facts
- By Lor on 04-06-18
What listeners say about British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LB
- 11-04-21
well done
well done. short and to the point. one of the world's greatest military leaders portrayed here.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MolllyT
- 07-11-20
Brief overview of a complex man
This thesis gave not only the particulars of his life and achievements but also a look into the motivations and development over the course of his long life. Known primarily for his military accomplishments, he was also a discreet womanizer, and later a parliamentarian. I found that it answered questions I had about things which I read in novels but questioned the validity of.
This is also narrated by Colin Fluxman who is exemplary.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-18-23
Dry, no depth
Sounded like a high school freshman term paper. First Audible book I was disappointed with!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!