author
Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy
1812–1878
Best known for turning military history into a lively read, this Victorian historian and judge wrote with the pace of a storyteller and the confidence of a courtroom advocate. His most famous book, The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, helped bring big historical turning points to a wide popular audience.
1 Audiobook
The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo
by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy
About the author
Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy was an English historian and jurist born in Bexley, Kent, in 1812. He became a fellow of King's, was called to the bar in 1837, and later taught history at the University of London.
Creasy is remembered above all for The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, a hugely influential Victorian history book that presented famous battles as turning points in world events. He also wrote other historical works, including studies of invasions of England and the rise and progress of the English constitution.
His career was not limited to writing. In 1860 he was appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon and was knighted, bringing together his legal work and his public reputation as a man of letters. He died in 1878, leaving behind books that stayed popular for generations.