The medals, which are the subject of this book, were designed as a private venture by James Mudie, to commemorate and provide a permanent record of the great series of victories over the most powerful enemy with whom this country has ever contended --Napoleon. The book is dedicated to George IV, who ascended the throne in the year of its publication . It is not only the battles that are commemorated but also national heroes and other events. There are forty medals illustrated, showing both obverse and reverse sides, and subjects include personalities such as Howe, Nelson, Moore and Wellington; battles such as Vimiera, Salamanca, Toulouse and Waterloo; occasions such as the Peace of Europe, Visit of Prussian and Russian Sovereigns to England and the Surrender of Napoleon. For each medal there is an explanatory text. In his introduction the author proudly claims that they are the only series upon a given subject in honour of England, ever published by an English subject, and they are the only one that ranks high as a work of art. A rare find!