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The Victorians at War. Ry Ian F. W. Beckett. New York: Hambledon and London, 2003. ISBN 1-85285-275-5. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliographic note. Index. Pp. xv, 272. $29.95.
The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. By Harold E. Raugh, Jr. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2004. ISBN 1-57607-925-2. Maps. Appendixes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xvi, 403. $95.00.
Over the years, Ian Beckett has produced a number of excellent scholarly works of Victorian military history, including Riflemen Form, The Amateur Military' Tradition, and the co-edited Politicians and Defence. With The Victorians at War, he aims at a more general audience. Avoiding a traditional narrative, Beckett presents a collection of essays taken largely from previously published (although sometimes substantially rewritten) articles, book chapters, and lectures. These essays are loosely arranged around three themes: public perceptions of soldiers and the army, military command and civil-military relations, and the application of force. Throughout, Beckett wants to show how the men and officers of Queen Victoria's armies lived and fought.
In Part One of The Victorians at War, Beckett presents such "eminent Victorians" as Garnet Wolseley, Frederick Roberts, Charles MacGregor, and Charles Warren, all...