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Allan Mallinson was a serving cavalry officer. He is also the author of Light Dragoons, a history of four regiments of British Cavalry, one of which he commanded, and a regular reviewer for The Times, the Spectator and the Literary Review. His Matthew Hervey novels are Sunday Times bestsellers and are all available in Bantam paperback.
The author, himself a distinguished serving soldier and admirer of the late lamented C S Forester and Patrick O'Brian, felt it time that someone raised as much awareness of the 19th-century army - especially the soldiers-on-horseback - as these two writers have for the navy. This, his first novel, is based on his own experience as Commander of the 13th/18th Hussars, as well as on meticulous reserach and scholarship. From the dying days of the Peninsula War to the Battle of Waterloo we follow the fortunes of Matthew Hervey, son of a poor country parson and brilliant soldier, as his expertise, courage and sensitivity take him from lowly cornet with the 6th Light Dragoons to aide-de-camp to the great Wellington himself, following a thrilling account of one of the most legendary battles of all time. Combining astonishingly vivid descriptions of action with subtle analysis of relationships within an army 'riddled with jealousy, snobbery, patronage and intrigue' where preferment comes by purchase rather than just desserts, and fascinating minutiae of daily life both on campaign and in rare moments of relaxation, this is a series worthy to stand beside Mallinson's literary heroes. Written with authority, enthusiasm and real love of the subject, it carries the reader along on a great wave of imagination and erudition. Serious history - and a great yarn. The second volume of the adventures of (now Captain) Hervey: The Nizam's Daughters is available in hardback from Bantam Books. (Kirkus UK)
