WITH WELLINGTON AT WATERLOO

A companion volume to With Nelson at Trafalgar (p. 617 J-217), this also chooses a fictitious hero to accent authentic historical data. The plot traces the dramatic events in the life of young John Leaning, who joins Wellington's army after having rescued Jim, his friend, from a false arrest in which he could expect no justice. The two boys begin their army life in the Peninsular War, where Jonh's assignment is to work with Spanish guerrillas. With the Spanish campaign underway, they are both captured but manage to escape disguised as monks. They rejoin Wellington's army and each subsequent event in their careers is more spine-tingling than the last. After the siege of Badajoz, John returns to England where his efforts to save a friend prove almost fatal. With Napoleon's escape from Elba, Wellington marshalls his reserves and as an aide in the Battle of Waterloo, John occupies a ringside spot in history. Each aspect of the battle is described carefully; a rousing climax to a vivid re-creation of an era.