No More Napoleons

How Britain Managed Europe from Waterloo to World War One

By: Andrew Lambert

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Hardcover | 24 June 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
588 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.0 x 16.3 x 3.9

Hardcover

$57.75

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How, for just over a century, Britain ensured it would not face another Napoleon Bonaparte—manipulating European powers while building a global maritime empire

At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, a fragile peace emerged in Europe. The continent's borders were redrawn, and the French Empire, once a significant threat to British security, was for now cut down to size. But after decades of ceaseless conflict, Britain's economy was beset by a crippling debt. How could this small, insular seapower state secure order across the Channel?

Andrew Lambert argues for a dynamic new understanding of the nineteenth century, showing how British policymakers shaped a stable European system that it could balance from offshore. Through judicious deployment of naval power against continental forces, and the defence strategy of statesmen such as the Duke of Wellington, Britain ensured that no single European state could rise to pose a threat, rebuilt its economy, and established naval and trade dominance across the globe.

This is the remarkable story of how Britain kept a whole continent in check—until the final collapse of this delicately balanced order at the outset of World War One.

About the Author

Andrew Lambert is Laughton Professor of Naval History at King's College, London, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of Seapower States and The British Way of War.

Industry Reviews

"Lambert writes . . . penetratingly, challengingly and, above all, clear-eyed. It is as if a well-known painting that has accrued decades of grime has been cleaned and restored, so that its details and true colours are revealed once again."-Allan Mallinson, Country Life

"This is a thought-provoking book that will rightly encourage debate. . . . Anyone with an interest in British foreign and military policy in the long 19th century will certainly want to read and engage with its arguments."-Graham Goodland, Military History Matters

"With the future of NATO being questioned as never before, policymakers should read this superb book as a masterclass in the vital areas of strategic acuity, domination of the oceans, and the deployment of hard power. It was no coincidence that Britain managed to deter attack from any major power for almost a century after Waterloo, and Andrew Lambert shows how it was done by far-sighted statesmen in an era of intense Great Power rivalry."-Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

"Mastery of the complex narrative of a tumultuous century, matched with insights from Seapower States and The British Way of War, delivers a key text for statesmen confronting new Napoleons today."-Michael Barritt, author of Nelson's Pathfinders

"A masterful and original account of British grand strategy in the century after Waterloo, stressing the role of diplomacy and naval power, and focusing on the wars that weren't fought as much as those that were."-Lawrence Freedman, author of Command

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