Showing posts with label Waterloo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterloo. Show all posts

Saturday Sleuthing: The Napoleonic Wars, The Russian Revolution, World War I, World War II and a Gothic Ghost Story

Today my book sleuthing has uncovered a number of novels from authors that I have not read before, though three are from the one author.

Lieutenant and Mrs Lockwood by Mark Bois 

"Captain Barr desperately wanted to kill Lieutenant Lockwood. He thought constantly of doing so, though he had long since given up any consideration of a formal duel. Lockwood, after all, was a good shot and a fine swordsman; a knife in the back would do. And then Barr dreamt of going back to Ireland, and of taking Brigid Lockwood for his own." So begins the story of Lieutenant James Lockwood, his wife Brigid, and his deadly rivalry - professional and romantic - with Charles Barr. Lockwood and Barr hold each other's honor hostage, at a time when a man's honor meant more than his life. But can a man as treacherous as Charles Barr be trusted to keep secret the disgrace that could irrevocably ruin Lockwood and his family? Against a backdrop of famine and uprising in Ireland, and the war between Napoleon and Wellington, showing the famous Inniskilling Regiment in historically accurate detail, here is a romance for the ages, and for all time. ..

There is an in-depth review of this novel by Robert Burnham on the The Napoleon Series website.

This is Mark Bois' debut novel and is the first of a series. The reason I added this to my wish list is the two different perspectives: the officer on active service in the West Indies and eventually at Waterloo, and the family he leaves behind in Ireland.

The Hour of Parade by Alan Bray

"The past pressed on him so that he felt he must fall to his knees. If he could just tell Valsin all that had happened-then the younger man might understand and redeem them both." One violent act draws together three very different people in Alan Bray's haunting debut, "The Hour of Parade." The year is 1806, and Russian cavalry officer Alexi Ruzhensky journeys to Munich to kill the man responsible for murdering his brother in a duel, French officer Louis Valsin. Already thwarted once at the Battle of Austerlitz by Valsin's lover, Anne-Marie, Alexi has been told by his father not to fail again. Obsessed by the main character in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel "Julie," Alexi becomes romantically entangled with a beautiful and passionate young Bavarian woman. He hides his true identity and befriends Valsin and Anne-Marie, only to find that he has no thirst for blood. As the three grow closer, tensions mount as Alexi and Anne-Marie desperately try to resist their growing attraction. But as the novel comes to its explosive conclusion, Alexi will learn that revenge cannot be forgotten so easily. An intricately woven history of love, lust, and murder, "The Hour of Parade "proves itself an epic romance for the ages.


My reason for selecting this novel is that though set during the Napoleonic Wars it is not a war story, but one of relationships and family honour.


The Last Campaign of Marianne Tambour: A Novel of Waterloo by David Ebsworth 

On the bloody fields of Waterloo, a battle-weary canteen mistress of Bonaparte's Imperial Guard battalions must fight to free her daughter from all the perils that war will hurl against them - before this last campaign can kill them both.

The book blurb above is very brief, but a review written by Susan Howard and posted on The Napoleon Series website gives a much better description of this novel.







This is David Ebsworth's fourth novel.  His debut novel was The Jacobite's Apprentice, another on my wish list. Once again this novel was selected because of its different perspective: Waterloo through the eyes of women at the battle.


The Absolutist by John Boyne

September 1919: Twenty-years-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a clutch of letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother Will during the Great War. They trained together. They fought together. But in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield and declared himself a conscientious objector, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family. The letters, however, are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep within him. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. Whatever happens, this meeting will change his life - forever.




John Boyne is the author of many novels. One of them, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was made into a film with the same name.  The World War I setting

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne

Russia, 1915: Sixteen year old farmer's son Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family and is instantly proclaimed a hero. Rewarded with the position of bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II, the course of his life is changed for ever. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which will lead to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is both a witness and participant in a drama that will echo down the century. Sixty-five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. And with them, the consequences of the brutal fate of the Romanovs which has hung like a shroud over every aspect of their marriage...


This novel appealed to me because it offers a look at history from a different perspective. I'm also a fan of dual time frame novels


This House is Haunted by John Boyne

1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor. When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong. From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlin's walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall's long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past.


The cover and the Norfolk setting drew my attention to this novel.Occasionally I like to read a good ghost story, which I hope this is.

We Shall Remember by Emma Fraser

1939. Irena is a young medical student living in Warsaw when the German army invade Poland. Those closest to her are dying and when Irena realises that no one is coming to Poland's aid, it's clear that she is alone. Forced to flee to Britain, Irena meets Richard, a RAF pilot who she's instantly drawn to and there's a glimmer of happiness on the horizon. And then the war becomes more brutal and in order to right a never-forgotten wrong Irena must make an impossible decision. 1989. Decades later, Sarah's mother is left a home in Skye and another in Edinburgh following the death of Lord Glendale, a man she's never met, and only on the condition that Magdalena Drobnik, a woman she's never heard of, is no longer alive. Sarah's only clues to this mystery are two photographs she doesn't understand but she's determined to discover the truth, not knowing that she's about to begin a journey that will change her life. Gripping, poignant and honest, We Shall Remember is an incredibly powerful story about the choices we make under fire.

The dual time frame and my Polish heritage is responsible for this one being added to my wish list.

An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer

This is my old copy of this book. It cost me 90 cents back in 1968/69 and, if I remember correctly, was purchased from our local newsagent. Many of my Georgette Heyer novels were purchased there on a Saturday or after school  and I can remember my excitement when a new novel appeared on the shelves or my great disappointment  when I came away empty handed.

 An interesting snippet about this book is that it was on a suggested reading list for Sandhurst Military Academy due to Georgette Heyer’s brilliant description of the Battle of Waterloo. I wonder how many officer cadets read it?

My reason for mentioning this novel is that I want to add a new copy to my bookshelf because I’m taken with its cover. 

Yes, I'm going to re-read it in the near future



















Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

More Adventures in Redcoats

Surfing the internet has once again uncovered two more authors writing in the historical military fiction genre, IAIN GALE and ADRIAN GOLDSWORTHY
 
"FOUR DAYS IN JUNE" was the debut novel by Iain Gale released in 2006.  It covers the four days of the Battle of Waterloo from the view points of five  military figures, Wellington, Napoleon, Marshal Ney, General De Lancey, Colonel MacDonnell and General Ziethen, a Prussian officer.

This novel was followed by the adventures of Jack Steel set during the Spanish Wars of Succession. There are three books in the series so far.
 











His latest novel is KEANE'S COMPANY released this year and is set during the Peninsular Wars (1808).  James Keane, an officer in the 27th Foot, and his band of hand-picked men, are sent on an intelligence gathering mission behind enemy lines.

Iain Gale also writes military fiction set during World War II and has written a number of non-fiction books on a variety of subjects.




"TRUE SOLDIER GENTLEMAN" is the first in a series of novels by Adrian Goldsworthy set during the Napoleonic Wars. Four books, out of a possible twelve, are currently available. The titles are all taken from songs popular at the time and another little gem, especially for fans of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Wickham is amongst the officers of the 106th Regiment of Foot.
 








Adrian Goldsworthy is also an ancient historian who has written several non-fiction books about the Roman Empire.