author
R. H. (Rees Howell) Gronow
1794–1865
A Grenadier Guards officer at Waterloo who later turned his sharp eye to London and Paris society, he wrote lively reminiscences packed with soldiers, clubmen, politicians, and famous personalities. His books still appeal for their brisk, anecdotal view of Regency life from someone who was there.
1 Audiobook
Reminiscences of Captain Gronow
by R. H. (Rees Howell) Gronow
About the author
Born in Wales in 1794, Rees Howell Gronow was educated at Eton and entered the army as a young man. He served with the Grenadier Guards in the Peninsular War and fought at Waterloo, experiences that gave his later writing much of its color and authority.
After leaving the army, he moved in fashionable social and political circles and briefly sat in Parliament for Stafford. He became widely known as "Captain Gronow," a man-about-town whose memories of officers, aristocrats, clubs, and salons captured the tone of post-Napoleonic Britain and France.
Gronow is best remembered for his memoirs and anecdotal books, especially Reminiscences of Captain Gronow and later recollections. Rather than writing formal history, he specialized in vivid sketches and social observation, which is why his work still feels entertaining as well as historically revealing.