A gripping adventure in which Mercer brilliantly brings to life the story of soldiers in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Anthony Morgan, now just appointed as general, has two of his sons, one his legitimate heir, one his bastard, both fighting in the ranks. Morgan has arrived just as one of the rival princelings has begun to control Herat, and is determined to carve out some power for himself, and so embarks upon marching to Kandahar, determined to remove the British governor and take the city and province as his own kingdom. Morgan's life is not made easier by problems with the other generals and in particular his own difficulties in dealing with the growing rivalry between his two sons.

Thrilling military history from the author of To Do and Die. As the ship docked in Bombay, the shocking news of the rising by the Indian mutineers and their massacre of women, children and civilians reached Anthony Morgan and his company. Even so, they were hardly prepared for what they now faced in this country, so unknown to them, where they found it hard to understand who was friend or foe among the native troops. Morgan himself has another quest. On discovering that the son he had fathered, his child's mother and her husband, Morgan's old sergeant, are captives up in the hills where the enterprising Rhani of Jansi is building up her force against old comers, he is determined to find a way to rescue them and lead them to safety. A gripping tale of one of the great challenges to the Victorian Empire, and the difficult dilemmas of a soldier torn between orders and honor.

The historical fiction debut from former soldier, BBC defence correspondent and MP, Patrick Mercer, is a thrilling military action set during the Crimean War. 1854. War is imminent as the Western powers quarrel with Russia over fragments of the crumbling Ottoman empire. Wanting to prove himself to a father who will not let him forget about his own self-proclaimed military glories, Officer Tony Morgan is keen to set sail. Meanwhile, the Morgan's chambermaid, Mary, whom Tony loves but cannot marry, has wedded another officer in his company and will be accompanying the regiment to the front as a nurse. Arriving at Sebastapol in the Crimea, the company's first engagement with the Russians fill the company with a short-lived confidence. Morgan is eager to show himself a worthy leader, but in the face of several bloody engagements which decimate the company, he finds himself shaken to the core by the brutality of war. He also has to quell potential mutiny against the cowardly subaltern Carmichael, whose first instincts are always to save his own skin. His romantic longings for Mary are revived after her husband is severely injured and she nevertheless proves herself a noble and brave addition to the company. Facing dire conflict on the battlefield and off, within his company and within himself, Morgan is going to be tested to the limits... In his fiction debut, Mercer's twenty years of military service is all there on the page. His mastery of both the broad sweep and the finer details of military engagement is superb and bound to make an impact with military action fans. His characterisation of the regiment is wholly persuasive and he nails soldier psychology, slang and the interactions up and down the chain of command with deceptive ease. This is probably the closest any of us will get to being in a battle.

"Delane's War" is the story of how John Delane, editor of "The Times", brought about the resignation of the entire cabinet of the British Government over its conduct of the Crimean War. In the aftermath Britain came close to revolution. The British went to war ill-prepared, poorly equipped and desperately undermanned. Within a matter of weeks their numbers had been decimated by disease and the harsh rigours of the Crimean winter through their inadequate clothing. In addition, poor intelligence had not predicted a spirited Russian defence. Using the first war reporters and 'embedded correspondents' "The Times" revealed to England the terrible drama as it unfolded, in a premonition of modern war journalism. Lack of censorship allowed "The Times"' correspondent William Howard Russell to send back reports on astonishing military incompetence. Delane printed them verbatim and ran excoriating editorials against those in command. He also ran the world's first newspaper appeals, which would inspire Florence Nightengale to visit the Crimea and open her field hospitals. "Delane's War" describes the four months between October 1854 and January 1855, during which time the Government and Army tried to silence and deride Delane and his newspaper for his coverage of the war, accusing him of treachery, deception and exaggeration. Delane was steadfast in his editorial line and would not be ignored. Eventually a dramatic debate in Parliament brought about the largest ever defeat of a British Government in office. With the resignations of ministers, the lying of politicians, the aloofness of generals and the suffering of the troops, this book paints a sadly recognisable picture. From it, however, John Delane stands out as one of the heroes of Vitorian England.