Letters from Ladysmith – Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War by Edward M. Spiers

Letters from Ladysmith – Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War, edited by Edward M. Spiers with a foreword by the noted military historian Ian Knight, is a vivid collection of first-hand accounts of the Siege of Ladysmith. Originally published in the United Kingdom by Pen & Sword, this South African edition was published in 2010 by Jonathan Ball Publishers of Johannesburg and Cape Town, together with Frontline Books. It is bound in black cloth boards with gilt lettering on the spine and comes in its original dust jacket.

Letters from Ladysmith draws on letters written by soldiers, officers and civilians, many first printed in newspapers at home, and arranges them to follow the campaign from start to finish. Chapters cover the fighting in Northern Natal, life under siege in Ladysmith, the battles fought to relieve the town, the long endurance of the siege, and finally the relief and rejoicings that followed.

Letters from Ladysmith will appeal to Anglo-Boer War collectors, students of Natal history, battlefield tourists and anyone interested in military history told in the words of those who lived it. It sits well alongside the works of Ian Knight and other standard histories of the South African War.

Condition – Near Fine

This 2010 hardcover is in near fine condition, in a near fine dust jacket. The black cloth boards are clean and square, with bright gilt lettering on the spine, and the jacket is bright and complete with no tears or chips. The text block is clean and tightly bound, with no inscriptions, markings, foxing or loose pages. There are no notable defects.