Allan Mallinson

January 1829: Cuts in the army mean that Matthew Hervey’s Dragoons are to be reduced to a single squadron....

Things are looking up for Major Matthew Hervey: news of a handsome legacy should allow him to purchase command of his beloved regiment, the 6th Light Dragoons....

1826: Napoleon Bonaparte is dead, the Congress of Vienna's work is done, and there is peace in Europe....

When Hervey is told by his old friend, Sir Eyre Somervile, that the Zulu warrior king, Shaka, is about to make war on neighbouring tribes, he knows that matters are perilous indeed....

It's 1814, and Napoleon is hard-pressed to defend France from a combination of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Britain. Nor is he the only one in a quandary....

India, 1816. Fresh from the field of Waterloo, Matthew Hervey is dispatched on a mission of the utmost secrecy....

The prime minister is resisting growing calls for parliamentary reform, provoking scenes of violent unrest....

In 1827 Captain Sir Laughton Peto, recently engaged to Matthew Hervey's sister, Elizabeth, has just taken command of HMS Prince Rupert....