A Tidy Little War: The British Invasion of Egypt 1882

By William Wright

In 1882 the British invaded Egypt in an audacious war that gave them control of the country, and the Suez Canal, for more than seventy years. William Wright gives the first full account of that hard-fought and hitherto neglected campaign, which was not nearly as 'tidy' as the British commander would later claim. Using unpublished documents and forgotten books, including the discovery of General Sir Garnet Wolseley's diaries, Wright highlights how the Egyptian War, climaxing in the dawn battle of Tel-el-Kebir was altogether a close-run thing. The major combined services operation of the late Victorian era also saw the Royal Navy sail into battle for the last time in its old glory and the book has the first full account of the Bombardment of Alexandria.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Nov 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9780752475844

William Wright

William Wright, the author of ten nonfiction books on diverse subjects, was born in Philadelphia in 1930. After earning a BA at Yale University, he served in the US Army as a translator and interpreter of Mandarin Chinese. Later he became an editor at Holiday and the editor of Chicago magazine. In addition to The Von BülowAffair, Wright is the author of many books, among them Lillian Hellman: The Image, the Woman; Pavarotti: My World; and Born That Way: Genes, Behavior, Personality.