Everybody knows about Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous Sherlock Holmes stories, but I suspect a lot of people don't know that he was also an outstanding writer of historical fiction. Sir Nigel and The White Company are two examples that come immediately to mind. Both are superb novels about English knights and soldiers in the 13th and 14th centuries. And this one, Brigadier Gerard, is a collection of stories written in the first person by a fictional French cavalry officer during the Napoleanic wars.
If you're looking for a historical overview of Napoleon's achievements, this is not the place for it. What you do get, though, is a series of singular adventures which take place in the villages, cafes, forests and fields of the Europe visited by invading French armies. There is Gerard's trip of revenge to the "Castle of Gloom" in Austria. His ear is chopped off in a Venetian dungeon. He is captured by guerrillas in Portugal, and manages to escape from a hideous death. He is double-crossed by a beautiful vixen in Germany. There is his murderous midnight meeting with Napoleon. And yes, he is present at Waterloo, but spends the battle in the second-floor loft of an inn, after the first floor is commandeered by enemy wounded.
The book is loaded with interesting tidbits of military folklore. He recognizes a ford in the river, for example, by noticing the placement of two buildings on either side of it. Here is his comment on travelling through enemy territory: "I should not have feared to ride by the road through the wood, for I have learned in Spain that the safest time to pass through a guerrilla country is after an outrage."
And Gerard himself is as enjoyable a character as we could wish for in relating these tales. He will tell you that he is unfailingly handsome, loyal and brave, but he does have his foibles. He doesn't seem to realize that he is a bit of a braggart, and he's often not quite as smart as he thinks he is. However, it is Doyle's triumph that we look upon Gerard's weaknesses with fondness, rather than contempt, or disbelief. For Gerard, more than anything, is honest. He recounts his failures as well as his successes, and there is a great sense of pathos when we often hear the regret in his voice recounting specific events in his life. Here he is, for example, reflecting on an old love: "Etienne Gerard has his sword, his horse, his regiment, his mother, his Emperor and his career. A debonair Hussar has room in his life for love, but none for a wife. So I thought then, my friends, but I did not see the lonely days when I should long to clasp those vanished hands, and turn my head away when I saw an old comrades with their tall children standing around their chairs."
This book has everything: adventure, romance, military lore, horses, swords, beautiful women and blood. If you like Flashman or Hornblower, you will love this.
