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AoH Book Club: Brian Williams on Marshal Ney: Fall from Glory
The author of a biography of the ‘The Bravest of the Brave’ comments on his remarkable career and tragic downfall, his astronomic rise through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic armies up to Waterloo, his controversial execution and the enduring myths surrounding his legacy.
Hello Brian, and welcome back to Aspects of History. A year on from its publication, Marshal Ney: Fall from Glory is your first book, but your fascination with the Napoleonic Wars goes back to childhood. What was it about Ney in particular that made you want to tell...
Introducing the New Aspects of History Substack – We’re Revamping!
Pairing a free midweek editorial newsletter with exclusive subscriber-only magazine features, author interviews and other benefits on a Saturday, we are offering history lovers a richer and more rewarding reading experience while supporting independent historical writing.
Over the last six years, Aspects of History has brought you the best historical writing from established and new authors alike, whether non-fiction or fiction. So we are now excited to outline a new chapter for the Aspects of History Substack. Our website has grown...
2026 Summer Reads from Aspects of History
Our authors and contributors recommend books to take on your summer holidays.
Summer Reads from Aspects of HistoryZeb Baker-Smith Editor at Aspects of HistoryPaul Knox’s Lost London offers a captivating itinerary of 25 buildings which are no longer, but whose lifespan shaped the capital’s architectural story, revealing how the perennial cycle...
Head of Zeus
Head of Zeus opened for business on 3rd January 2012, won Digital Business of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2015, Independent Publisher of the Year in 2017, and joined the Bloomsbury family in 2021. Across our six imprints, we're digital pioneers, beautiful book makers and lovers of great storytelling.
Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on AmazonFrom the Publisher Head of Zeus opened for business on 3rd January 2012, won Digital Business of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2015, Independent Publisher of the Year...
Marshal Ney: Fall From Glory, by Brian Williams
This portrayal of Ney examines a brilliant yet flawed commander whose legacy is shaped by both tactical brilliance and tragic misjudgement.
We used to joke at Staff College when the command appointments for exercises were being handed out that at least we couldn’t be asked to command the rear guard on Napoleon’s 1812 retreat from Moscow. Of all the military operations in history, it is hard to think of...
Marshal Ney: Myths and Questions
When Marshal Ney was shot in the Luxembourg Gardens, the man was already eclipsed by his legend. His career exposes the limits of battlefield brilliance in a world where wars were already fought on paper and in courts.
“Soldiers, when I give the command to fire, fire straight at my heart. Wait for the order. It will be my last to you. I have fought a hundred battles for France and not one against her…. Soldiers! Fire!” The oft-quoted last words of Michel Ney, Marshal of France,...
No More Napoleons: How Britain Managed Europe from Waterloo to World War One, by Andrew Lambert
As debate intensifies over Britain’s role in world security, Andrew Lambert offers a timely reassessment of the country’s 19th-century grand strategy.
It seems apt that the paperback edition of Andrew Lambert’s gripping analysis in No More Napoleons should be published as Britain’s contribution to the preservation of the security of the continent of Europe, and indeed the wider world, is under debate and our very...
No More Napoleons: Andrew Lambert Interviewed
In examining the 'Wellington System', the naval historian challenges the traditional view of complacent British diplomacy in Europe during the 19th century and up to WW1.
Andrew Lambert, in No More Napoleons, you describe Britain’s strategy between 1815 and 1914 as “book-ended by existential total wars”. What prompted you to reconsider the 19th century not as an age of complacency, but instead a hundred years of vigilance? The tendency...
Sea Power, Strategy, and Europe
By securing the Low Countries and maintaining control of the seas, British statesmen including Wellington created a system that balanced the continent's powers and preserved stability for a century until 1914.
While it is often thought that British military engagement in northwestern Europe ended with Waterloo in 1815 and resumed, a century later, with the First World War in 1914 – with a few periods of invasion anxiety surfacing around the middle of the 19th century –the...