Dancing into Battle - A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo

Dancing into Battle - A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo

by Nick Foulkes

Phoenix, HK$153

'By God, sir, I've lost my leg!' Lord Uxbridge is alleged to have said from the saddle after being caught by a round of grapeshot at Waterloo. 'By God, sir, so you have,' replied Wellington, before returning to his telescope. Nick Foulkes suggests it was at the Battle of Waterloo that the legendary 'stiff upper lip' of the English was born. By his telling, Uxbridge seemed to have been mostly perturbed his dancing days were over, though it was time to let the younger chaps have a turn. Foulkes takes an unusual perspective on Waterloo by examining the near-mythical importance of the Duchess of Richmond's dance in Brussels, which was interrupted by news that Napoleon Bonaparte was massing his army and duty called for the defence of Europe. He weaves around the party, and the bloody battle, a Regency tapestry of gossip and sex and scandal, evoked through literature and the many histories of Waterloo itself. Dancing into Battle makes for an amusing, if rather frivolous, read. It is unclear whether there was a polite way to die, but the Duchess of Richmond did check with Wellington lest her party clash with his plans to invade France.