After years of neglect, it came as something of a surprise last year to see the Crimean War featured in a major Channel 4 documentary. Paul Kerr's 'The Crimean War' (Boxtree, 25 Eccleston Place, London, SWIW 9NF. ISBN 0-7522-1112-9, price 16.99 pounds) is the companion book of the series and, although clearly aimed at a general readership, still gives a very worthwhile resume of the war. It is based largely on eyewitness accounts - perhaps more so than any other history of the campaign - a device which seldom fails to bring history to life.

All the squalor, filth, confusion and horror of the war is here, together with some undeniable moments of extraordinary courage. Moreover, in a concise and clear way, the book also looks at aspects of the war which fell outside the Crimean theatre, including the naval actions in the Baltic.

Inevitably, it is very well illustrated with both photographs - some of which were certainly new to this reviewer - and artwork, much of it in colour. In particular, the mercilessly honest sketches taken in the field by Captain Henry Clifford are particularly striking, and are well used here as a counterpoint to more heroic images produced by painters who never left the safety of their studios. If you are looking for one book on the Crimea, this is a good place to start.

To many people, the image of Lord Cardigan, of Balaclava fame, remains that of Trevor Howard in Tony Richardson's flawed masterpiece, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'; arrogant, irascible, petty- minded, womanising, and almost stubbornly brave.

It comes as something of a relief to discover on reading Saul David's new biography, 'The Homicidal Earl' (Little 1~rown, Brettenham House, Lancaster Place, London, WC2E 7EN. ISBN 0-316-64165-0, price C 22.50), that this is not so far wide of the mark! The life of James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, had been remarkable enough, even before the events of 1854, dogged as it was by sexual indiscretion and by an extraordinary array of vindictive public quarrels. Cardigan's early marriage to a divorcee - itself a scandal - soon proved unsuccessful, and he entered upon a series of affairs with an almost insolent disregard for the consequences, while he pursued his professional career with such breath-taking egotism that he quarrelled almost continuously with his subordinate officers.

The result was a series of bitter disputes which more than once ended in a duel - ironically, the nick-name 'The homicidal Earl' was coined long before Balaclava. In his time he was tried for murder, court-martialled, black-balled by clubs, and snubbed by Queen Victoria; what makes Cardigan such a delightful character in retrospect is that he just did not give a damn. Quite incapable of seeing any fault in his own actions, he blundered from one disaster to the next, entirely unconcerned about the chaos around him.

Small wonder, then, that he faced the charge into the Valley of Death without flinching in the slightest. Much of Cardigan's story reads like high farce now, a series of bizarre altercations over remarkably petty issues - the famous 'black bottle' affair, for example, or his trial of an officer alleged to have spoiled the appearance of his regiment on parade by refusing the issue of newstable-jackets.

And the story of his liaison with one mistress, observed by a private investigator who was hiding under the sofa at the time, is pure Flashman! Saul David argues that Cardigan's behaviour at Balaclava effectively wiped out the stain of his past indiscretions, but goes on to point out that many of his fellow officers were unimpressed by it.

Although he undoubtedly rode through the Russian batteries, there were those who claimed to have seen him turn about and gallop back down the valley, abandoning the men of the Brigade who were still engaged - an insinuation which Cardigan bitterly resented. 'The Homicidal Earl' is a delicious portrait of an insufferable old reprobate, whose military career could only have flourished in the climate of his times.

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