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BBC History Magazine June 2005: This curiosity of a book is at first glance the story of the efforts of one man, William Siborne, to build a scale model of the battle of waterloo 20 years or so after Wellington's famous victory. Interesting subject though that is, this study goes a lot deeper: Hofschroer has uncovered a tale of remarkable political manovering in the 1830's. Sibourne, a military man and stickler for the facts, created a model that did not agree with Wellington's account and gave Blucher's Prussian forces a more prominent hand in the victory. The Duke could not afford to have his reputation tarnished so he used his army connections and political minions to damage Siborne's reputation and prevent his access to funding he had been promised. Hofschroer unravels this story with gusto and the picture he paints does not put the general in a good light. However, as he points out in his conclusion, it wasn't just personal vanity, but national interests that motivated Wellington to ensure his side of the story was told -as a symbol of resistance against Napoleon, his disgrace would have affected Britain's standing in the world.

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