Young Bloods

Wellington and Napoleon, Book 1

By: Simon Scarrow

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Arthur Wesley (the future Duke of Wellington) was born and bred to be a leader. With a firm belief that the nation must be led by a king, the red-coated British officer heads for battle against the French Republic, to restore the fallen monarchy.

Napoleon Bonaparte joins the French military on the eve of the Revolution. He believes leadership is won by merit, not by noble birth. When anarchy explodes in Paris, he's thrust into the revolutionary army poised to march against Britain.

As two mighty empires embark on a bloody duel, Wesley and Bonaparte prepare to face a sworn enemy, unaware that the fate of Europe will one day lie in their hands....

©2006 Simon Scarrow (P)2016 Headline Digital

loved it!

fantastic storytelling. I love the way the author bridges these two remarkable men into one seem less tale....

Keeble is the best!

Keeble once again brings fantastic colour to Scarrow's great retelling of two of history's most formidable characters!

Great listen!

So glad I found this series. Scarrow is great. Character development is awesome, can’t wait for the next one!

A Thrilling Retelling of The Napoleonic Wars

Outstanding story written by Simon Scarrow. The narrator Jonathan Keeble does an amazing job making the story come alive conveying a real sense of the personal lives of the two protagonists - Bonaparte and Wellington. Execllent overall. Loved it.

Good listen

If you like Scarrows Macro/Cato novels you will like this one. Great story. As a non brit/french I have not reas too much about this era, but this was a good intro.

What a story!

Okay, not necessarily 100% accurate but close enough. I am sure that these two characters are not as noble as they are made out to be but you can't help wanting to follow their stories loosely based on history. Simon Scarrow does an great job novelising these historical characters into people and the events as real as one could get them. I even love Jonathan Keeble accents and style of reading. Can't wait to read the next installment.

Well written and read

This is fantastic and there is nothing like the books in this series. It is perfection to the highest degree. "You actually feel like you are standing in the room with the characters." I listened to all of them and I can't wait to do it again.

How the young got blooded

The young Napolean had fire in his belly,intelligence and ambition.Obviously he made the most of it. Arthur ,the future Duke of Wellington,had greatness thrust upon him .Thrust into a difficult military campaign against revolutionary France his innate abilities rose to the top.
Interesting that both were the same age and both,in their formative years, lost Fathers that they loved and respected .Great Story,Great narration .I just purchased book two in the series which the reviews say is even better.Scarrow gives you a history lesson in the guise of a good story.

Exceptional

I have been fascinated by Napoleon since I was a child. I have read everything I could find about both these men and the Napoleonic War. I found myself more interested in Arthur Wesley’s sister, Barbara; she was a fascinating person. So when I discovered Simon Scarrow wrote a historical fiction series about these two men I just had to read it.

The book covers the years 1769 to 1795. Scarrow starts with the early years of both men and it appeared to me that Scarrow was attempting to show similarities between the two men’s characters. The only new item was that Scarrow suggested that Napoleon and Wesley (Duke of Wellington) met as young men at a French Military Academy. I have never heard of this meeting so I do not know if it really happened or is part of the fiction in the story. The story did remind me that Arthur Wesley could have made his fame and fortune with his violin; not many famous generals were excellent musicians. In the last half of the book we have Napoleon at the battle of Toulon; Scarrow has some excellent battle scenes.

Scarrow took on a real challenge, as so much has been written about these two men. I can understand why Scarrow chose to write a historical fiction rather than a biography. The book is well researched and well written. Being fiction it is easy to read. I understand there are four books in this series. I cannot wait to read them all. Jonathan Keeble does a good job narrating the book.

Napoleon and Wellington

Simon Scarrow does a great job of portraying the humanity and personalities of these famous adversities. The battle scenes are vivid and gripping, and gives a great sense of the development and experience of these future generals. Can't wait to read the rest of the series. And to top it off, Jonathan Keeble is a masterful narrator.