The military achievements of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, have been well documented and deservedly so. Inevitably his fame and success made him attractive, nay irresistible, to the opposite sex and over the many years of his campaigning away from home he came into contact with a great number of beautiful and powerful ladies. Patrick Delaforce focuses in a tasteful way on these relationships which often had an important influence on the Great Man ' and occasionally on the shape of history. Many of his encounters were undoubtedly platonic, others certainly not.

How much influence did notable wives have on the leading commanders in British military history? These women tend to be disregarded but, as Trina Beckett demonstrates in this revealing and thought-provoking study, their influence has often been profound. Taking examples from the eighteenth century to the Second World War, she uncovers a hidden dimension in the rise to prominence of some of Britains most famous soldiers and documents a series of fascinating relationships between powerful men and equally powerful women.Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Dorothy, Countess Haig are perhaps the most famous examples of wives who played important roles in their husbands brilliant careers. However, sometimes the lives of leading commanders would be hindered as well as helped by their wives. Paulina Wood proved such a disastrous hostess that she almost destroyed the career of Sir Evelyn Wood, and Lord Roberts reputation for jobbery owed much to his wife Noras constant interference in appointments.Trina Becketts perceptive and absorbing case studies reveal much about the women whose lives she portrays and the contribution they made to their distinguished husbands military careers.

The military achievements of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, have been well documented and deservedly so. Inevitably his fame and success made him attractive, nay irresistible, to the opposite sex and over the many years of his campaigning away from home he came into contact with a great number of beautiful and powerful ladies. Patrick Delaforce focuses in a tasteful way on these relationships which often had an important influence on the Great Man ' and occasionally on the shape of history. Many of his encounters were undoubtedly platonic, others certainly not.

The author of Shot Down in the Drink shares photos and anecdotes detailing the history of the World War II fighter plane and its crews across the globe. Researched many years ago by Graham Patrick for a project that did not come to fruition, Beaufighter air and ground crew gave freely of their stories, which ranged from complete memoirs to brief anecdotes. And there were a plethora of original photographs for him to choose from. He has built on these tales to trace the roles of Beaufighter squadrons spread across all the theatres of World War II operations. From home bases, through northwest Europe, North Africa, Malta and the Mediterranean, to the Far East and southwest Pacific, the Beaufighter served far and wide, as did the crews of the RAF, RAAF, SAAF, and New Zealand and Canadian squadrons. All are covered in this quite unique book to be savored by all those interested in the war in the air from 1939–1945.

This single volume study of Wellington's life and times is based on modern research. Wellington achieved fame as a soldier fighting the Mahratta in India. His later brilliant generalship fighting the French in Spain was rewarded by a dukedom and a grant from the house of Commons which would today be worth some u8 million. After his defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo he embarked on his second career as a politician. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army for life, became Prime Minister in 1827 and a byword for High Toryism while presiding over the emancipation of Roman Catholics and the formation of the country's first police force. Unhappily married, he had several mistresses and many intimate friendships with women."