This book is evidence of the world's greatest gay, equine, military, epistolary romance. These powerfully moving letters were exchanged between two of the most significant warhorses in history: the dignified Marengo, devoted bearer of Napoleon; and the dashing Copenhagen, a slightly flighty racehorse who became the warhorse of the Duke of Wellington. Originally made public by the highly acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series starring Stephen Fry, Daniel Rigby and Tamsin Greig, this correspondence has melted the hearts of many, and surprised a great many more.

Now, the maverick academics who painstakingly tracked down each yellowing, crumbling cache of letters, have arranged and edited them into book form, adding a wealth of learned hoofnotes full of fascinating factual facts that will deepen the reader's understanding both of Napoleonic history and that sadly neglected branch of academe, horsethropology. Some readers may think they notice lots of facts that are less factual, often much less factual. To those readers, we offer the wise words of Marengo himself: Open your minds, open your hearts, you have nothing to lose but your reins