Two babies born in 1769 would divide Europe between them: Napoleon on Corsica, Arthur Wellesley in Ireland. The future Duke of Wellington began as the 'fool of the family,' a disappointment so complete his own mother despaired of him. This 1912 biography traces his improbable transformation from aimless youth into the general who crushed Napoleon's empire at Waterloo. Wheeler places Wellington among his contemporaries, Nelson and the Bonaparte brothers and the revolutionary turmoil of France, while examining the character and conviction that turned obscurity into dominance. The narrative spans from his uncertain childhood through his early military failures to the campaigns that made him an emblem of British resilience. For readers who love military history, the Napoleonic era, or stories of improbable greatness, this remains a vivid portrait of how an unremarkable boy became immortal.
