Cornwallis

Soldier and Statesman in a Revolutionary World

By: Richard Middleton

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The first biography of Charles Cornwallis in 40 years - the soldier, governor, and statesman whose career covered America, India, Britain, and Ireland.

Charles, first marquis of Cornwallis (1738-1805), was a leading figure in late 18th-century Britain. His career spanned the American War of Independence, Irish Union, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the building of the Second British Empire in India - and he has long been associated with the unacceptable face of Britain's colonial past.

In this vivid new biography, Richard Middleton shows that this portrait is far from accurate. Cornwallis emerges as a reformer who had deep empathy for those under his authority and was clear about his obligation to govern justly. He sought to protect the population of Bengal with a constitution of written laws, insisted on Catholic emancipation in Ireland, and recognized the limitations of British power after the American war. Middleton reveals how Cornwallis' rewarding of merit, search for economy, and elimination of corruption helped improve the machinery of British government into the 19th century.

©2022 Richard Middleton (P)2022 Tantor

Highly recommend

One of the better audiobooks I've "read," because of its meticulous research and amazingly entertaining narrative. Quite frankly, this was a book that was very hard to put down.

The book is filled with leadership lessons that still apply very much today. The book shed particular light on the inside view of the British war against the American Revolution that I have not seen examined so well in any other works.

Despite my American background, I found the stories of India and Ireland enthralling, and it helped me understand the colonization of both those lands much better.

I highly recommend this book as a basis for understanding that era of history, but also as a leadership text with lessons that still apply today. Moreover, it's enormously entertaining and in some respects reads like a very entertaining novel, only with the knowledge that it is actually a highly researched text that is very true.

Mediocre

Well told by the narrator and an interesting listen for anyone wanting to learn more about Cornwallis. Seems a bit “revisionist” and more concerned with explanations to 21st century apologetics than teaching the lessons learned. Did not get much out of it other than a more in depth knowledge of the man’s career and family life.