WELLINGTON A Personal History

The Duke of Wellington is either a great man with some outstanding flaws or a flawed man with great good luck. Hibbert prefers the former. Though the lackluster early years of Arthur Wellesley hardly hinted at the brilliant military career that outwitted Napoleon's generals in Spain and the emperor himself at Waterloo, the long political career that followed became an intriguing study in public nobility of character married to inept personal management. As he served his king, he shunned his wife. David Case's reading drips with his characteristic ennui, which unfortunately was not a characteristic of the duke. The lisp that Case affects, however, is authentic, though even that becomes a little tiresome, especially in the letters where it hardly matters. Nevertheless, he beautifully captures both the innocent humanity and sardonic nonchalance of the man. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]