R. E. FOSTER graduated with a First in History from the University of Southampton. Recipient of a major state studentship from the British Academy, he became the first graduate to work on the Wellington Papers when they were deposited at Southampton in 1983. After 28 years’ teaching, he resigned in order to research and write full time. He has written four books: The Politics of County Power (1990), Wellington and Waterloo (2014), Sidney Herbert (2019) and Wilton Women (2022). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.