James Thomas Brudenall, Seventh Earl of Cardigan, was probably the most hated and adulated man of his time. Dragoon, hussar, huntsman, landholder, adulterer and duellist, he waited for almost 60 years for his moment of glory. When it came it took place in an obscure Crimean valley and lasted only 20 minutes - but the Charge of the Light Brigade was a defining moment in history, and as its leader Cardigan instantly became a national hero. Yet the Balaclava incident was merely one of several peaks in Cardigan's career, which included the most remarkable proceedngs for divorce, criminal conversation, and criminal libel; one of the greatest court-marshal scandals of the century; a very public and un-Victorian love affair with a woman less than half his age; and a number of "matters of honour", one of which earned him the distinction of beng the only Victorian peer to be tried by the House of Lords. This is the biography of a controversial and fascinating figure, which in the process offers a portrayal of the Crimean War and of 19th-century military society.