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Alastair-Audley Tetralogy #4
An Infamous Army
In 1815, beneath the aegis of the Army of Occupation, Brussels is the gayest town in Europe. And the widow Lady Barbara Childe, renowned for being as outrageous as she is beautiful, is at the centre of all that is fashionable and light-hearted. When she meets Charles Audley, dashing aide-de-camp to the great Duke of Wellington himself, her joie de vivre knows no bounds – until the eve of the fateful Battle of Waterloo ...
431 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
About the author
Georgette Heyer
257 books5,163 followersGeorgette Heyer was a prolific historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth.
In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller each year.
Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author all her life without the aid of publicity. She made no appearances, never gave an interview and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. She wrote one novel using the pseudonym Stella Martin.
Her Georgian and Regencies romances were inspired by Jane Austen. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset.
Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance.
In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller each year.
Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author all her life without the aid of publicity. She made no appearances, never gave an interview and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. She wrote one novel using the pseudonym Stella Martin.
Her Georgian and Regencies romances were inspired by Jane Austen. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset.
Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 457 reviews
October 29, 2019
Warning; there may be spoilers for Regency Buck & Devil's Cub in this review,as GH uses characters from both in this book.
My good GR friend Hana has covered the historical side of reviewing the book, & I don't feel I can better her comments. This is her review (linked to with her permission) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I will mention that GH was meticulous in her research - at the back of the book is what she calls the "short" bibliography & that runs to two & a half pages!
I wasn't so keen on this book in my younger days & if GR had been around then I would have given it a solid 3.5*, as in found the history a bit indigestible. I loved the romance, but on subsequent readings I just skimmed through the history & reread Bab's & Charles love story. That's right folks – I breezed through the Battle of Waterloo! & I thought there was even more history than there was! On this reading, I would put romance, Regency life at around 75%, war story 25%.This read, I simply accepted that I wasn't going to remember every real life character & just went with the flow. I'm not a big war story reader at any time, but GH's description of soot blackened faces & horses being shot under riders ring true. Anyone thinking that the name Grouchy must be a typo (& anyone who reads the Arrow editions of GH's books can certainly be forgiven for that!) It isn't. Real life person. Here he is!
I was always glad to see one of my favourite secondary GH characters, Charles Audley, given his own romance, but on my first reading I wasn't that keen on Barbara. Each reading I have come to love Barbara more.
*artistic shudder* & now for the Arrow. Looking at some of their covers I wondered if anyone from Arrow had even read a paragraph of the books? With this one, did anyone even read the title? The insipid looking young woman on the cover certainly isn't Bab or Judith. Is it Harriet? Miss Devenish? Who knows. This book has never had a realistic cover that I'm aware of, but this stylised one from Heinmann is certainly pretty.
The 200 year anniversary of Waterloo is coming up. Read this book to mark it!
Reread Feb 2018
Reread with The Georgette Heyer Fans Group
I haven't much to add to my conclusions above - other than the history/romance split felt more like 50-50.
Barbara Childe (supposedly based loosely on Lady Caroline Lamb & if so, it was an audacious move to have Caroline also appear briefly in this novel) is GH's most complex heroine. The romance isn't a traditional HEA, which may leave some Heyer fans feeling a little cheated.
More than a romance, more than a vivid retelling of history this book is also a look at three different relationships, once the romance has faded.
Last time I was probably a little harsh about GH's depiction of Dominic but I still think the book didn't need him or Mary.
My good GR friend Hana has covered the historical side of reviewing the book, & I don't feel I can better her comments. This is her review (linked to with her permission) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I will mention that GH was meticulous in her research - at the back of the book is what she calls the "short" bibliography & that runs to two & a half pages!
I wasn't so keen on this book in my younger days & if GR had been around then I would have given it a solid 3.5*, as in found the history a bit indigestible. I loved the romance, but on subsequent readings I just skimmed through the history & reread Bab's & Charles love story. That's right folks – I breezed through the Battle of Waterloo! & I thought there was even more history than there was! On this reading, I would put romance, Regency life at around 75%, war story 25%.This read, I simply accepted that I wasn't going to remember every real life character & just went with the flow. I'm not a big war story reader at any time, but GH's description of soot blackened faces & horses being shot under riders ring true. Anyone thinking that the name Grouchy must be a typo (& anyone who reads the Arrow editions of GH's books can certainly be forgiven for that!) It isn't. Real life person. Here he is!
I was always glad to see one of my favourite secondary GH characters, Charles Audley, given his own romance, but on my first reading I wasn't that keen on Barbara. Each reading I have come to love Barbara more.
*artistic shudder* & now for the Arrow. Looking at some of their covers I wondered if anyone from Arrow had even read a paragraph of the books? With this one, did anyone even read the title? The insipid looking young woman on the cover certainly isn't Bab or Judith. Is it Harriet? Miss Devenish? Who knows. This book has never had a realistic cover that I'm aware of, but this stylised one from Heinmann is certainly pretty.
The 200 year anniversary of Waterloo is coming up. Read this book to mark it!
Reread Feb 2018
Reread with The Georgette Heyer Fans Group
I haven't much to add to my conclusions above - other than the history/romance split felt more like 50-50.
Barbara Childe (supposedly based loosely on Lady Caroline Lamb & if so, it was an audacious move to have Caroline also appear briefly in this novel) is GH's most complex heroine. The romance isn't a traditional HEA, which may leave some Heyer fans feeling a little cheated.
More than a romance, more than a vivid retelling of history this book is also a look at three different relationships, once the romance has faded.
Last time I was probably a little harsh about GH's depiction of Dominic but I still think the book didn't need him or Mary.
June 9, 2015
This was a bit of a mash-up: part romance with an unpleasantly self-absorbed heroine, part history lesson, meticulously researched and well told.
The story opens in Brussels on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo as British and allied European forces prepare to confront a resurgent Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington is in command of the British troops, who are too few and unseasoned. Heyer captures the sense of feverish gaiety that grips this city on the brink of war. Wellington's staff work madly to assemble troops and equipment by day; then dance til dawn at glittering parties.
At the Duchess of Richmond's ball, held the night of 15 June 1815, "the 42nd Royal Highlanders and the 92nd Foot danced reels and strathspeys to the music of their own pipes....the weird sound of the pipes began and the Highlanders came marching in with their kilts swinging, tartans swept over their left shoulders, huge white sporrans bobbing, and the red chequered patterns of their stockings twinkling in the quick steps of the reel."
A message arrives for Wellington, who plans the next day's stand at Quatre-Bras and the men take their leave. "The Highland Brigade came marching through the Place in the first rays of sunlight..."
In just a few hours those Highlanders would face the French in a battle that would cost the lives of over 8,000 men.
That was only the beginning and two days later the British and their allies would fight Napoleon's finest in the rain-soaked fields outside a small village called Waterloo. Heyer's descriptions of Waterloo are moving: the glory, the desperate courage, the chaos, the hideous pain of the injured--both men and horses. It's all there and very real--and it was, as Wellington would say later "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life."
I also learned a great deal about the way war was fought in those days. For example, infantry squares like these were remarkably effective defenses against cavalry charges.
As for the romance...I think the book would have been better off without it. Lady Barbara Child was so selfish and reckless that even her bravery helping with the wounded could not reconcile me to her. Sadly many of the characters seem rather dull, including some old friends from earlier Alastair-Audley books. Not my favorite Heyer, but an interesting read for fans of military history.
Content rating PG: for mature themes and graphic descriptions of war.
June 2015 Georgette Heyer group read.
The story opens in Brussels on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo as British and allied European forces prepare to confront a resurgent Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington is in command of the British troops, who are too few and unseasoned. Heyer captures the sense of feverish gaiety that grips this city on the brink of war. Wellington's staff work madly to assemble troops and equipment by day; then dance til dawn at glittering parties.
At the Duchess of Richmond's ball, held the night of 15 June 1815, "the 42nd Royal Highlanders and the 92nd Foot danced reels and strathspeys to the music of their own pipes....the weird sound of the pipes began and the Highlanders came marching in with their kilts swinging, tartans swept over their left shoulders, huge white sporrans bobbing, and the red chequered patterns of their stockings twinkling in the quick steps of the reel."
A message arrives for Wellington, who plans the next day's stand at Quatre-Bras and the men take their leave. "The Highland Brigade came marching through the Place in the first rays of sunlight..."
In just a few hours those Highlanders would face the French in a battle that would cost the lives of over 8,000 men.
That was only the beginning and two days later the British and their allies would fight Napoleon's finest in the rain-soaked fields outside a small village called Waterloo. Heyer's descriptions of Waterloo are moving: the glory, the desperate courage, the chaos, the hideous pain of the injured--both men and horses. It's all there and very real--and it was, as Wellington would say later "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life."
I also learned a great deal about the way war was fought in those days. For example, infantry squares like these were remarkably effective defenses against cavalry charges.
As for the romance...I think the book would have been better off without it. Lady Barbara Child was so selfish and reckless that even her bravery helping with the wounded could not reconcile me to her. Sadly many of the characters seem rather dull, including some old friends from earlier Alastair-Audley books. Not my favorite Heyer, but an interesting read for fans of military history.
Content rating PG: for mature themes and graphic descriptions of war.
June 2015 Georgette Heyer group read.
July 15, 2014
Although I had read three other Georgette Heyer novels before this one, those were all detective stories, instead of the historical romances that she's more well-known for. I found this one in a bookstore a few weeks ago and thought that it would be a good introduction to Heyer's other body of work - although her mysteries aren't the best I've ever read, her characters are always well-formed and the writing is witty and clever, so I was looking forward to seeing how she applied this skill to another kind of story. (A quick note: although this book is technically part of a series, it functions very well as a stand-alone novel, to the point where I didn't even realize that I was reading a book from a series until I went to write this review)
Brussels, 1815. The summer of love. While the Congress of Vienna winds down, English and French society congregates in Brussels for endless parties, balls, and general rich-people fun times. Off in France, Napoleon has escaped exile and is gathering an army, but no one is overly worried about this, because parties. The cast of characters is vast (and apparently consists almost entirely of real historical figures who were involved in the Battle of Waterloo), but our main characters are Barbara Childe and Colonel Charles Audley. Barbara is a widow who, having been freed early on by her husband's death, now has an amount of freedom that most women of the time can only dream of, and uses that freedom to the best of her ability. Barbara scandalizes the town by wearing revealing clothing, painting her toenails gold, swearing like a soldier, and having a series of very public affairs and generally not giving a single flying fuck what anyone thinks. Needless to say, I loved her from the get-go. Enter Colonel Charles Audley, an aide-de-camp to Wellington. He falls in love with Barbara and proposes to her, and she's like, "sure, this could be fun." The way Heyer develops Charles and Barbara's relationship is very nicely done, and equal parts delightful and heartbreaking: Barbara, subconsciously afraid that she doesn't deserve a man as good as Charles, tries to sabotage the relationship by behaving badly, like she's constantly daring Charles to break up with her. For his part, Charles handles things beautifully - he wants Barbara to be the decent person he knows she's capable of being, but in the same breath says that the last thing he wants is to tell Barbara what to do with her life. Basically imagine what would happen if Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler were actually concealing decent human beings under their protective layers of anger and cynicism, instead of just being a borderline-sociopath and a smug asshole. Barbara and Charles are the best, and we get to spend a few hundred pages watching their romance develop before the Battle of Waterloo hits, and everything goes to shit.
The research that went into this book, a seemingly-fluffy story of love during war, is staggering. I know very little of the Napoleonic wars, so I can't comment on the accuracy of Heyer's version of the Battle of Waterloo, but it certainly felt accurate. The battle takes up a significant portion of the story, with Heyer giving us an almost blow-by-blow account of the battle. She manages to give us a technical overview of the battle, while also showing the horrific reality of war (there are several brief scenes and images during the battle that still haunt me, as they very well should). It's a significant departure from the romantic shenanigans and gossip of the rest of the book, and readers can expect some kind of whiplash from the change in tone. But if you're reading the book, you know that the sudden depictions of war and all its brutality don't come out of nowhere: throughout the book, the war looms in the background, and the approaching battle is always present. It starts out subtle:
"The balls, the concerts, the theatres continued, but picnics were added to the gaieties now, charming expeditions, with flowering muslins squired by hot scarlet uniforms; the ladies in open carriages; the gentlemen riding gallantly beside; hampers of cold chicken and champagne on the boxes; everyone lighthearted; flirtation the order of the day. There were reviews to watch, fetes to attend; day after day slid by in the pursuit of pleasure; days that were not quite real, but belonged to some half-realised dream. Somewhere to the south was a Corsican ogre, who might at any moment break into the dream and shatter it, but distance shrouded him..."
and then the war is on people's doorsteps, even as they're trying to ignore it and keep having parties and pretending that everything is fine:
"From scores of faces the polite company masks seemed to have slipped. People had forgotten that at balls they must smile, and hide whatever care or grief they owned under bright, artificial fronts. Some of the senior officers were looking grave; here and there a rigid, meaningless smile was pinned to a mother's white face, or a girl stood with a fallen mouth, and blank eyes fixed on a scarlet uniform. A queer, almost greedy emotion shone in many countenances. Life had become suddenly an urgent business, racing towards disaster, and the craving for excitement, the breathless moment compound of fear, and grief, and exaltation, when the mind sharpened, and the senses were stretched as taut as as the strings of a violin, surged up under the veneer of good manners, and shone behind the dread in shocked young eyes. For all the shrinking from tragedy looming ahead, there was yet an unacknowledged eagerness to hurry to meet whatever horror lurked in the future; if existence were to sink back to the humdrum, there would be disappointment behind the relief, and a sense of frustration."
It's beautiful and powerful and I loved every single character - I definitely need to seek out more of Heyer's romances, and soon.
Brussels, 1815. The summer of love. While the Congress of Vienna winds down, English and French society congregates in Brussels for endless parties, balls, and general rich-people fun times. Off in France, Napoleon has escaped exile and is gathering an army, but no one is overly worried about this, because parties. The cast of characters is vast (and apparently consists almost entirely of real historical figures who were involved in the Battle of Waterloo), but our main characters are Barbara Childe and Colonel Charles Audley. Barbara is a widow who, having been freed early on by her husband's death, now has an amount of freedom that most women of the time can only dream of, and uses that freedom to the best of her ability. Barbara scandalizes the town by wearing revealing clothing, painting her toenails gold, swearing like a soldier, and having a series of very public affairs and generally not giving a single flying fuck what anyone thinks. Needless to say, I loved her from the get-go. Enter Colonel Charles Audley, an aide-de-camp to Wellington. He falls in love with Barbara and proposes to her, and she's like, "sure, this could be fun." The way Heyer develops Charles and Barbara's relationship is very nicely done, and equal parts delightful and heartbreaking: Barbara, subconsciously afraid that she doesn't deserve a man as good as Charles, tries to sabotage the relationship by behaving badly, like she's constantly daring Charles to break up with her. For his part, Charles handles things beautifully - he wants Barbara to be the decent person he knows she's capable of being, but in the same breath says that the last thing he wants is to tell Barbara what to do with her life. Basically imagine what would happen if Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler were actually concealing decent human beings under their protective layers of anger and cynicism, instead of just being a borderline-sociopath and a smug asshole. Barbara and Charles are the best, and we get to spend a few hundred pages watching their romance develop before the Battle of Waterloo hits, and everything goes to shit.
The research that went into this book, a seemingly-fluffy story of love during war, is staggering. I know very little of the Napoleonic wars, so I can't comment on the accuracy of Heyer's version of the Battle of Waterloo, but it certainly felt accurate. The battle takes up a significant portion of the story, with Heyer giving us an almost blow-by-blow account of the battle. She manages to give us a technical overview of the battle, while also showing the horrific reality of war (there are several brief scenes and images during the battle that still haunt me, as they very well should). It's a significant departure from the romantic shenanigans and gossip of the rest of the book, and readers can expect some kind of whiplash from the change in tone. But if you're reading the book, you know that the sudden depictions of war and all its brutality don't come out of nowhere: throughout the book, the war looms in the background, and the approaching battle is always present. It starts out subtle:
"The balls, the concerts, the theatres continued, but picnics were added to the gaieties now, charming expeditions, with flowering muslins squired by hot scarlet uniforms; the ladies in open carriages; the gentlemen riding gallantly beside; hampers of cold chicken and champagne on the boxes; everyone lighthearted; flirtation the order of the day. There were reviews to watch, fetes to attend; day after day slid by in the pursuit of pleasure; days that were not quite real, but belonged to some half-realised dream. Somewhere to the south was a Corsican ogre, who might at any moment break into the dream and shatter it, but distance shrouded him..."
and then the war is on people's doorsteps, even as they're trying to ignore it and keep having parties and pretending that everything is fine:
"From scores of faces the polite company masks seemed to have slipped. People had forgotten that at balls they must smile, and hide whatever care or grief they owned under bright, artificial fronts. Some of the senior officers were looking grave; here and there a rigid, meaningless smile was pinned to a mother's white face, or a girl stood with a fallen mouth, and blank eyes fixed on a scarlet uniform. A queer, almost greedy emotion shone in many countenances. Life had become suddenly an urgent business, racing towards disaster, and the craving for excitement, the breathless moment compound of fear, and grief, and exaltation, when the mind sharpened, and the senses were stretched as taut as as the strings of a violin, surged up under the veneer of good manners, and shone behind the dread in shocked young eyes. For all the shrinking from tragedy looming ahead, there was yet an unacknowledged eagerness to hurry to meet whatever horror lurked in the future; if existence were to sink back to the humdrum, there would be disappointment behind the relief, and a sense of frustration."
It's beautiful and powerful and I loved every single character - I definitely need to seek out more of Heyer's romances, and soon.
December 30, 2007
This is exactly the bracing kind of story I needed. Jolly good fun, as the general population of characters in this book would say. Georgette Heyer has always been good at adventure stories set amongst the British upper class, but in this she has far outdone herself. Her research is astounding. The second half of the book largely consists of an enormously through (about 150 pages long) play by play account of the battle of Waterloo, and its' immediate lead up and aftermath. Heyer seems to know every small action, every commander, each failed and successful strategy on both sides, not to mention her unbelievable knowledge of 19th century warfare and British army cant of the time. This part of the novel reads like something between a history tome and the narrative novel that its supposed to be. I certainly didn't know about 3/4 of any of the stuff in there. I think her main character, Charles Audley, one of the aides-de-camp to Wellington, was about the only person who was invented.
In further praise: I think Charles and Barbara are one of the more realistic couples she's created, and each of them three dimensional and changing throughout the course of the story. Their love is somewhat unmotivated at first, but if you just accept it, there's no fault to be found thereafter with it. The first half of the novel is wonderful in the fact that it combines the farcical romance stories that she does so well and weaves in hints of the military drama to come over the course of it. It really creates a sense of the hysteria and surreality of being in society in Brussels before the battle of Waterloo, one second at balls, the next wondering when the cannons will fire on you. I wouldn't think of this as a romance novel, whatever it may say on the back of the book. Romance novels don't discuss battles and histories for 150 pages and hint at it for the rest. Also? The character of Wellington is wonderful, well researched, and not idealized in the slightest. She used many of his dispatches from the battle to make him even more realistic.
The only thing I would comment on as a problem is that the romance and the description of Waterloo don't quite go together. It's like one story ends and entirely different one begins when the second half starts, with some of the same characters. Then for the last 30 pages, the first one starts up again, wrapping up all the storylines from the first part of the novel affected by the outcome of Waterloo. Were it not for Audley, the two would seem to have no connection at all. It did need to flow better, and perhaps not have /quite/ so serious a shift in tone. It was a little extreme. I was jolted, and I had to step back and take a breath before resuming after being plunged headfirst into 19th century military strategy.
PS- For you fans of Heyer's These Old Shades (one of my favorites) and Devil's Cub, Barbara is Dominic and Mary's granddaughter (the couple from Devil's Cub), and they make an appearance. Bonus!
In further praise: I think Charles and Barbara are one of the more realistic couples she's created, and each of them three dimensional and changing throughout the course of the story. Their love is somewhat unmotivated at first, but if you just accept it, there's no fault to be found thereafter with it. The first half of the novel is wonderful in the fact that it combines the farcical romance stories that she does so well and weaves in hints of the military drama to come over the course of it. It really creates a sense of the hysteria and surreality of being in society in Brussels before the battle of Waterloo, one second at balls, the next wondering when the cannons will fire on you. I wouldn't think of this as a romance novel, whatever it may say on the back of the book. Romance novels don't discuss battles and histories for 150 pages and hint at it for the rest. Also? The character of Wellington is wonderful, well researched, and not idealized in the slightest. She used many of his dispatches from the battle to make him even more realistic.
The only thing I would comment on as a problem is that the romance and the description of Waterloo don't quite go together. It's like one story ends and entirely different one begins when the second half starts, with some of the same characters. Then for the last 30 pages, the first one starts up again, wrapping up all the storylines from the first part of the novel affected by the outcome of Waterloo. Were it not for Audley, the two would seem to have no connection at all. It did need to flow better, and perhaps not have /quite/ so serious a shift in tone. It was a little extreme. I was jolted, and I had to step back and take a breath before resuming after being plunged headfirst into 19th century military strategy.
PS- For you fans of Heyer's These Old Shades (one of my favorites) and Devil's Cub, Barbara is Dominic and Mary's granddaughter (the couple from Devil's Cub), and they make an appearance. Bonus!
November 15, 2018
I'm not sure this novel worked particularly well. The divide between the ball-room romances and the military maneuvering was just too wide. I really enjoyed both parts - but they didn't work that well together.
I'm a big fan of fiction set during the Napoleanic wars. When the 95th rifles were mentioned I was super excited to see how Heyer would depict Richard Sharpe - before remembering that Sharpe is a fictional character from another series and not a real historical person.
Heyer did a good job of showing Old Nosey at his best. Her Wellington is very much like Wellington as I've seen his elsewhere. That's not really a surprise. So much of his writing survives, and so many personal accounts and descriptions of him, that no writer really has any wriggle room for interpretation. I especially liked that almost every line he utters in this book is something that he said in real life. The man was just full of pithy phrases.
Even more interesting was her depiction of Silly Billy. Heyer has a fondness for young men which is evident in all her works, but really, I think she's far too indulgent of his blunders here. Heyer's Prince William of Orange is a courageous if impetuous young man whose rash courage leads him to make some understandable military mistakes. An interesting comparison to Cornwall's version, where the idiotic foppish youth gets a lot of good men killed through unforgivable stupidity and arrogance.
Overall though, Heyer is working far too hard to cram in as much of her research as she can. It clutters up the narrative and detracts from a clear understanding of the battles. Grownow and Creevey are both very interesting chroniclers - everyone should read them, especially Grownow, who writes some hilarious anecdotes about regency haut ton - but neither of them were important people in their own right, either socially or militarily. There was no point in bothering to mention them as characters and record their arrival in town. In fact, there was far too much listing of names. We don't need to know the name of every aristocrat hanging around Brussels, or every Major in the army.
The love story between Bab and Charles is very sweet though. I especially liked Bab, who is a perfect Heyer Mark I hero in a female body. But once again, Heyer's desire to cram the book full of unnecessary info kind of ruins it. Except in this case, it's not military history, it's fictional backstory from characters in earlier Heyer books. I liked Mary Challoner and Vidal as much as the next Devil's Cub reader, but they really didn't need to be in this book at all. And all the interminable chat about people's ancestors and family history is only present to remind you of early books. It doesn't add anything to the story or the characters.
So I don't know. I did enjoy the book - but I felt as if I enjoyed it in spite of itself.
I'm a big fan of fiction set during the Napoleanic wars. When the 95th rifles were mentioned I was super excited to see how Heyer would depict Richard Sharpe - before remembering that Sharpe is a fictional character from another series and not a real historical person.
Heyer did a good job of showing Old Nosey at his best. Her Wellington is very much like Wellington as I've seen his elsewhere. That's not really a surprise. So much of his writing survives, and so many personal accounts and descriptions of him, that no writer really has any wriggle room for interpretation. I especially liked that almost every line he utters in this book is something that he said in real life. The man was just full of pithy phrases.
Even more interesting was her depiction of Silly Billy. Heyer has a fondness for young men which is evident in all her works, but really, I think she's far too indulgent of his blunders here. Heyer's Prince William of Orange is a courageous if impetuous young man whose rash courage leads him to make some understandable military mistakes. An interesting comparison to Cornwall's version, where the idiotic foppish youth gets a lot of good men killed through unforgivable stupidity and arrogance.
Overall though, Heyer is working far too hard to cram in as much of her research as she can. It clutters up the narrative and detracts from a clear understanding of the battles. Grownow and Creevey are both very interesting chroniclers - everyone should read them, especially Grownow, who writes some hilarious anecdotes about regency haut ton - but neither of them were important people in their own right, either socially or militarily. There was no point in bothering to mention them as characters and record their arrival in town. In fact, there was far too much listing of names. We don't need to know the name of every aristocrat hanging around Brussels, or every Major in the army.
The love story between Bab and Charles is very sweet though. I especially liked Bab, who is a perfect Heyer Mark I hero in a female body. But once again, Heyer's desire to cram the book full of unnecessary info kind of ruins it. Except in this case, it's not military history, it's fictional backstory from characters in earlier Heyer books. I liked Mary Challoner and Vidal as much as the next Devil's Cub reader, but they really didn't need to be in this book at all. And all the interminable chat about people's ancestors and family history is only present to remind you of early books. It doesn't add anything to the story or the characters.
So I don't know. I did enjoy the book - but I felt as if I enjoyed it in spite of itself.
November 12, 2014
What did I know about the battle of Waterloo prior to reading this novel? Nothing. Nothing at all. I didn't even know who the Duke of Wellington was! But thanks to this wonderful masterpiece by Heyer, I now feel a lot more educated!:) This was just brilliant. The main character, Captain Audley, was in my opinion extremely appealing and the wonder is that he fell in love so quickly with the outrageous Lady Barbara. Bab was an excellent character (and in true Alastair fashion, incredibly notorious!), but she was so different from the kind, respected Captain Audley that I really wondered what on earth he saw in her that attracted him so much (except for the fact that she is divinely beautiful, but since Audley is supposed to have more sense than to fall in love with a woman because of her appearance, one really wonders!). Nevertheless they have a beautiful love story quite à la Heyer, and as the war rages and Barbara starts to show a more compassionate side, I was actually quite in favour of her match with Captain Audley.
As for the actual historical part of An Infamous Army, Heyer's retelling of the battle of Waterloo was so detailed, so intense and so overpowering that I felt as though as I was right there on the battlefield, with the Duke of Wellington who seemed to be everywhere at once without getting hit, Captain Audley who had to deliver endless messages through the masses of dead bodies and abandoned equipment, and the whole of the Allied forces, struggling to hold the line against the French troops. Since the battle doesn't happen until about 3/4 of the book, I was beginning to doubt whether or not Heyer meant to describe actual battlefield action, and well to be sure it was a lot better than I had imagined!
I enjoyed the military descriptions prior to battle very much as well. It was great to see how the Duke was getting ready. I remember that Lady Worth was surprised at his giving balls and enjoying himself out of office, but I don't blame him in the least. It must have been very hard to be in charge of the army, and I think he needed to go to balls and all that in order to stay sane. I liked his relationship with his fellow aides-de-camp, whom he called his "family". It created such a nice sense of unity and collaboration. One could tell that even though the Duke was above them in terms of social classes and military grades, they were all good friends and went beyond their employee / employer relationship.
That being said, however, Wellington's strong bonds with his co-workers only made it all the more sad when some of them died. As good as An Infamous Army is, it remains a war novel, and war novels are, well...very sad. I wanted to cry every time an important military died. ):
" Though his staff fell about him, he continued to ride up and down his lines, rallying failing troops, restraining men who, maddened by the rain of deadly shot, could hardly be kept from launching themselves through the smoke in a desperate charge against their persecutors. 'Wait a little longer my lads: you shall have at them presently,' he promised.
'By God, I thought I had heard enough of this man, but he far surpasses my expectations!' Uxbridge exclaimed.' It is not a man, but a god!'"
Wellington was expected by the Brussels population as some kind of demi-god. He didn't turn out to be what they had expected when he first puts an appearance at a gathering in Brussels, in the beginning. Well, had all these people seen him fight on the battlefield, they would have thought like Uxbridge.
Honestly, people back in the days greatly surprised me sometimes. Everyone comes to Brussels before the war, when they can be of no particular use, but simply want a little bit of action (but not too much!) and amusement, and they all FLEE during the war, when they actually have the chance to help the wounded soldiers who come back in the city, looking for help and shelter! Like Lord Worth said:
" ' My opinion of the human race has never been high, but the antics that are being performed at this moment exceed every expectation of folly with which I had previously indulged my fancy.'"
As for the actual historical part of An Infamous Army, Heyer's retelling of the battle of Waterloo was so detailed, so intense and so overpowering that I felt as though as I was right there on the battlefield, with the Duke of Wellington who seemed to be everywhere at once without getting hit, Captain Audley who had to deliver endless messages through the masses of dead bodies and abandoned equipment, and the whole of the Allied forces, struggling to hold the line against the French troops. Since the battle doesn't happen until about 3/4 of the book, I was beginning to doubt whether or not Heyer meant to describe actual battlefield action, and well to be sure it was a lot better than I had imagined!
I enjoyed the military descriptions prior to battle very much as well. It was great to see how the Duke was getting ready. I remember that Lady Worth was surprised at his giving balls and enjoying himself out of office, but I don't blame him in the least. It must have been very hard to be in charge of the army, and I think he needed to go to balls and all that in order to stay sane. I liked his relationship with his fellow aides-de-camp, whom he called his "family". It created such a nice sense of unity and collaboration. One could tell that even though the Duke was above them in terms of social classes and military grades, they were all good friends and went beyond their employee / employer relationship.
That being said, however, Wellington's strong bonds with his co-workers only made it all the more sad when some of them died. As good as An Infamous Army is, it remains a war novel, and war novels are, well...very sad. I wanted to cry every time an important military died. ):
" Though his staff fell about him, he continued to ride up and down his lines, rallying failing troops, restraining men who, maddened by the rain of deadly shot, could hardly be kept from launching themselves through the smoke in a desperate charge against their persecutors. 'Wait a little longer my lads: you shall have at them presently,' he promised.
'By God, I thought I had heard enough of this man, but he far surpasses my expectations!' Uxbridge exclaimed.' It is not a man, but a god!'"
Wellington was expected by the Brussels population as some kind of demi-god. He didn't turn out to be what they had expected when he first puts an appearance at a gathering in Brussels, in the beginning. Well, had all these people seen him fight on the battlefield, they would have thought like Uxbridge.
Honestly, people back in the days greatly surprised me sometimes. Everyone comes to Brussels before the war, when they can be of no particular use, but simply want a little bit of action (but not too much!) and amusement, and they all FLEE during the war, when they actually have the chance to help the wounded soldiers who come back in the city, looking for help and shelter! Like Lord Worth said:
" ' My opinion of the human race has never been high, but the antics that are being performed at this moment exceed every expectation of folly with which I had previously indulged my fancy.'"
December 5, 2010
I read Heyer for romance. This book was not what I expected. Too much military and hard to understand.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I think it might be better to READ this book rather than LISTEN to it as an audiobook. It was hard to understand all the military planning and battle action. I needed to see diagrams and pictures. It was also hard to follow the various officers’ names by listening as opposed to reading. I understand the author did a lot of research in order to be accurate about the “Battle of Waterloo.” The narrator spoke too fast for me which did not help.
I may be off on my percentages but it feels like half the book is about a relationship between an army officer and a widow. The other half is about military planning and fighting the Battle of Waterloo. This is NOT for someone wanting interesting and fully developed romantic relationships. I never understood what they saw in each other. It was just instant attraction at first sight.
Two characters in this story (Barbara and George) are the grandchildren of characters in Devil’s Cub. You do NOT need to read that book in advance. This is definitely a stand-alone book.
There is a mystery about Lucy and her love interest (a minor third story). I can’t remember how that was resolved or even if it was. It needed more explanation – or it could be my own bad memory.
STORY BRIEF:
Colonel Audley sees Barbara at a ball and falls in love at first sight. Barbara is a notorious widow who is unlikeable, mean, vain, and spoiled. She is beautiful and loves to flirt. She falls for the Colonel as well, but her bad behavior causes problems. Lucy is sad and we don’t know why until much later in the book. The Battle of Waterloo is the second story. Colonel Audley is part of the action.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hours. Narrator: Claire Higgins. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1815 Brussels and Waterloo, Belgium. Book Published: 1937. Genre: historical military fiction with a side of romance.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I think it might be better to READ this book rather than LISTEN to it as an audiobook. It was hard to understand all the military planning and battle action. I needed to see diagrams and pictures. It was also hard to follow the various officers’ names by listening as opposed to reading. I understand the author did a lot of research in order to be accurate about the “Battle of Waterloo.” The narrator spoke too fast for me which did not help.
I may be off on my percentages but it feels like half the book is about a relationship between an army officer and a widow. The other half is about military planning and fighting the Battle of Waterloo. This is NOT for someone wanting interesting and fully developed romantic relationships. I never understood what they saw in each other. It was just instant attraction at first sight.
Two characters in this story (Barbara and George) are the grandchildren of characters in Devil’s Cub. You do NOT need to read that book in advance. This is definitely a stand-alone book.
There is a mystery about Lucy and her love interest (a minor third story). I can’t remember how that was resolved or even if it was. It needed more explanation – or it could be my own bad memory.
STORY BRIEF:
Colonel Audley sees Barbara at a ball and falls in love at first sight. Barbara is a notorious widow who is unlikeable, mean, vain, and spoiled. She is beautiful and loves to flirt. She falls for the Colonel as well, but her bad behavior causes problems. Lucy is sad and we don’t know why until much later in the book. The Battle of Waterloo is the second story. Colonel Audley is part of the action.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hours. Narrator: Claire Higgins. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1815 Brussels and Waterloo, Belgium. Book Published: 1937. Genre: historical military fiction with a side of romance.
August 21, 2014
. Heyer's forte was historical research and it really shines through in this book. The last 1/3 of the novel consists of a detailed play by play description of the Battle of Waterloo complete with troop movements and every gory death exactly as it occurred. What happens to the characters during the battle is blended in with the real-life events and will keep the reader turning pages until the fictional history is resolved. Lady Barbara is entirely unlikeable in most of the novel. She's the feminine version of her grandfather and instead of shooting people she breaks hearts and causes young men to kill themselves. Lovely. We're told she's spoiled and didn't have a soft feminine influence to curb her wild nature but that doesn't excuse her bad behavior because she's perfectly aware of what she's doing. She has a slow revelation and improves upon acquaintance. We're told Charles is the best brother and he's so good and kind but his characterization is rather passive in this book. He falls in love at first set and lets the lady walk all over him. That doesn't make for a very good romance but by the end of the book I felt for the characters and wanted them to be together. I skimmed most of the battle action. It's very very detailed and extremely gory. I mainly wanted to know what happened to Charles. A minor subplot involving Lucy Devenish is also worked into this history of Waterloo. I liked the fictional parts of the book better than the real life depiction of the battle. I had a hard time keeping track of the real people that figured into the story but remembered the other characters from Regency Buck and Devil's Club so I felt more invested in their story. Different people have different reactions to this book so I won't say if I would recommend it or not but if you read Regency Buck and Devil's Club and want to know what happens next, then I would read the first half of the novel and skim the battle parts. Do not skip the battle parts all together because there are some scenes with fictional characters that are important to the story.
August 11, 2023
Not for me, DNF
August 21, 2016
This book has two sides. In other words, you will find two books inside.
1) It is definitely a tribute to Duke of Wellington and his army which fought at Waterloo. And, it is great tribute. Heyer had to spend many hours to get so historically accurate descriptions. Really, I don't even know what I can say more. If someone likes to read about wars, war strategies and so on, he will think of this book like of a jewel. I love historical fiction. Nonetheless, although I appreciate value of Heyer's work I confess I have skipped many sites and battle descriptions. I haven't had a mood for such knowledge. But I know where I can find it when I will be interested. Still, I have read with pleasure about other historical facts.
2) It is classical romance of Heyer. Witty, with small surprises, with interesting characters.
There are two aspects, two things I will remember especially from this book.
One is a history of Harriet and Peregrine. They are characters from Regency Buck. We see them in An Infamous Army as a married couple. Their relationship is portrayed interestingly. You will be reminded that there is a real life after "Happily Ever After".
Second is Harry's attitude to the war. His awakening of delusion is sad.
If I gave "stars" according to my pleasure from reading in this particular time I would give four stars. But I can appreciate the whole book, with parts which I haven't thoroughly read.
1) It is definitely a tribute to Duke of Wellington and his army which fought at Waterloo. And, it is great tribute. Heyer had to spend many hours to get so historically accurate descriptions. Really, I don't even know what I can say more. If someone likes to read about wars, war strategies and so on, he will think of this book like of a jewel. I love historical fiction. Nonetheless, although I appreciate value of Heyer's work I confess I have skipped many sites and battle descriptions. I haven't had a mood for such knowledge. But I know where I can find it when I will be interested. Still, I have read with pleasure about other historical facts.
2) It is classical romance of Heyer. Witty, with small surprises, with interesting characters.
There are two aspects, two things I will remember especially from this book.
One is a history of Harriet and Peregrine. They are characters from Regency Buck. We see them in An Infamous Army as a married couple. Their relationship is portrayed interestingly. You will be reminded that there is a real life after "Happily Ever After".
Second is Harry's attitude to the war. His awakening of delusion is sad.
If I gave "stars" according to my pleasure from reading in this particular time I would give four stars. But I can appreciate the whole book, with parts which I haven't thoroughly read.
February 11, 2015
This was the first book I have ever read that was written by Georgette Heyer. I can see why her work is so loved. It was very well written and much attention was given to detail, which I always enjoy. She put much work it into it while still allowing me to use my imagination to a point that was satisfactory for me!
While I'm far from an expert on the Duke of Wellington or Waterloo, I still think the military aspects of the story were very well written and appreciate the research Heyer put into it all!
My favorite characters were probably Colonel Audley himself, the Duke (of course), and Barbara's brother Lord George.
I very much enjoyed this read, of course! I will now refrain from being silly and will eventually read the rest of the series in order! Silly me had gotten this one from the library without realizing it was the last in a series of four! Ah well, still loved it!
While I'm far from an expert on the Duke of Wellington or Waterloo, I still think the military aspects of the story were very well written and appreciate the research Heyer put into it all!
My favorite characters were probably Colonel Audley himself, the Duke (of course), and Barbara's brother Lord George.
I very much enjoyed this read, of course! I will now refrain from being silly and will eventually read the rest of the series in order! Silly me had gotten this one from the library without realizing it was the last in a series of four! Ah well, still loved it!
July 5, 2020
I finally figured out why this is book four of the "Alastair-Audley" books and why Regency Buck was three! So that's good news!
The bad news?
It's the battle of Waterloo and some of these characters aren't going to make it!
This was very different from the previous books in the series and more like a hybrid of The Spanish Bride (which was SO GOOD) and one of her romances. It starts with romance, albeit a rather odd one. Also it takes place in Belgium, where many members and hangers on of the British Army are stationed, waiting for Bonaparte to make his move. In the meantime they're all riding in the parks and throwing balls and hooking up, la la la. I loved the contrast between the "last ball" and the women just a day later in their delicate muslins running through the streets trying to help dying soldiers. I mean, I didn't love the "dying soldiers" bit, but I was fascinated by this glimpse of what really went down when Waterloo happened.
I hated the main characters at first: Lady Barbara was a bitch and all her whining about how that's just the way she had to be was unconvincing. And I could not figure out why the Colonel would be so into her AT ALL. But over the course of their turbulent and traumatic relationship I was like, Oh, yeah, I get it. I like them.
The bad news?
It's the battle of Waterloo and some of these characters aren't going to make it!
This was very different from the previous books in the series and more like a hybrid of The Spanish Bride (which was SO GOOD) and one of her romances. It starts with romance, albeit a rather odd one. Also it takes place in Belgium, where many members and hangers on of the British Army are stationed, waiting for Bonaparte to make his move. In the meantime they're all riding in the parks and throwing balls and hooking up, la la la. I loved the contrast between the "last ball" and the women just a day later in their delicate muslins running through the streets trying to help dying soldiers. I mean, I didn't love the "dying soldiers" bit, but I was fascinated by this glimpse of what really went down when Waterloo happened.
I hated the main characters at first: Lady Barbara was a bitch and all her whining about how that's just the way she had to be was unconvincing. And I could not figure out why the Colonel would be so into her AT ALL. But over the course of their turbulent and traumatic relationship I was like, Oh, yeah, I get it. I like them.
March 9, 2017
What a wonderful, complex story. The romance feels less important that the historical stuff at times, but thanks to Heyer's talent and painstaking research, it all comes together flawlessly. There are basically three parts: In the beginning, the fashionable world anxiously awaits the results of the Vienna Congress and enjoys their freedom in Brussels, where the infamous widow Lady Barbara meets a dashing but quiet aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington. In the middle, Wellington prepares his campaign against a newly escaped Napoleon, and the last part features an incredibly detailed and gruesome account of the battle of Waterloo. What made this novel so enjoyable was Barbara: She's a self-proclaimed rake, loves shocking polite society, gambles, swears, flirts outrageously, and basically does as she pleases. She was a breath of fresh air, and luckily was so well drafted that even though all the gossip mongers call her heartless and a bitch, she never came across as a such.
July 2, 2007
This was possibly Georgette Heyer's greatest book. Her research into the battle of Waterloo was so detailed and accurate that it is on the recommended reading list for officer cadets at Sandhurst. Even if you're not into battles (and you can easily skip these sections) there's plenty more here, not just the usual love story but an amazing telling of how the citizens of the town coped with the influx of wounded, the fear, the honourable and dishonourable behaviour of people in a war zone. When Wellington says 'Do not congratulate me, for I have lost my dearest friends', you really feel for him amid the terrible carnage caused by Bonaparte's lust for power.
December 5, 2010
I loved this book. Of course, keep in mind that I am a serious fan/student of the Napoleonic era. This is an in depth look at the Battle of Waterloo. I recommend this book at work to men who read the Richard Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell and the Jack Aubrey novels of Patrick O'Brian. The romance is not the central element of the story, and what there is, is relatively low key. In other words, not enough to make a guy think he's reading a romance. There is a lot of battle tactics here. It is a good read for regency romance readers who would like a little more info on the battle that figures greatly in those novels.
August 18, 2018
I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the historical and military aspects. Heyer expertly conveyed the build up to the battle, and the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo. I was particularly impressed with how much research she performed. Some readers might find the dispositions of regiments and the tactics of battle to be boring, but I loved all these details. Another component of the novel that I enjoyed was the civilian perspective of the war. It's one thing to read about the behavior of the citizens in non-fiction books, but quite another to experience their lives in a story like this.
On the other hand, I did not enjoy the romance. While I acknowledge I am not a member of the intended audience, that doesn't mean I am inherently opposed to a romance-based novel. In this case, I simply did not like the characters, which made reading parts of this book a chore.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book, primarily for its historical and military attributes. I wish that I could have found the main characters more to my liking, but that can't be helped.
On the other hand, I did not enjoy the romance. While I acknowledge I am not a member of the intended audience, that doesn't mean I am inherently opposed to a romance-based novel. In this case, I simply did not like the characters, which made reading parts of this book a chore.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book, primarily for its historical and military attributes. I wish that I could have found the main characters more to my liking, but that can't be helped.
August 15, 2018
The book stayed with me around 4-5 months. No wonder I've a lot to say about it. The main reason it took so long time was not only my busy work schedule but the loose storyline and tons of characters. No wonder author fails to give them unique identity till she worked upon individual, i.e., after half of the book. Till then I wondered shall I just pack it up and return. But a friend who likes the same authors as I do, praised GH and I decided to give it a try. The limited knowledge of European History was another reason to keep waiting for the battle of Waterloo.
The book is set in Brussels where war is anticipated and people are trying not to believe it and enjoy balls and parties. Lady Barbara Childe is a center of all the parties with her beauty and her audacious choice of dresses. And her flirtatious character. Col Audley, a gentleman who so unlike her, falls in love with her and here the story starts moving slowly.
The first half is about Barbara upsetting people around her and second one is mostly about war. It's a Napoleon's last battle, the famous Battle of Waterloo. I liked the pace in second half. Though there are lots of details, it was something different than the fantasy world wars. Or modern world wars. I finished the second half quickly.
Given the number of characters, no wonder nobody comes across as strong. I still admired the Duke of Wellington. Mr and Mrs Worth give a fine backdrop to Barbara's character. I'm not sure I liked the protagonists but overall it was fine book.
I didn't like the cover. The Barbara of my imagination is not naive or innocent. The cover lady lacks spirit. But then I have shot a nice pic on phone as a memory of the book read over so long period.
Friends tell me that it's not GH at her best. So I'll pick up something, but not soon.
The book is set in Brussels where war is anticipated and people are trying not to believe it and enjoy balls and parties. Lady Barbara Childe is a center of all the parties with her beauty and her audacious choice of dresses. And her flirtatious character. Col Audley, a gentleman who so unlike her, falls in love with her and here the story starts moving slowly.
The first half is about Barbara upsetting people around her and second one is mostly about war. It's a Napoleon's last battle, the famous Battle of Waterloo. I liked the pace in second half. Though there are lots of details, it was something different than the fantasy world wars. Or modern world wars. I finished the second half quickly.
Given the number of characters, no wonder nobody comes across as strong. I still admired the Duke of Wellington. Mr and Mrs Worth give a fine backdrop to Barbara's character. I'm not sure I liked the protagonists but overall it was fine book.
I didn't like the cover. The Barbara of my imagination is not naive or innocent. The cover lady lacks spirit. But then I have shot a nice pic on phone as a memory of the book read over so long period.
Friends tell me that it's not GH at her best. So I'll pick up something, but not soon.
January 31, 2011
This is the love story of the scandalous Bab Childe and her Colonel Charles Audley... but not really. It's a story about learning to be self aware, and how times of struggle and strengthen and mature a person.... kind of. This is about how frivolous people can be in times of impending doom.... in a way. This is really the story of the battle of Waterloo..... but not really that either.
Ugh! Apparently this is one of the most historically accurate tellings of the Battle of Waterloo in all of fiction, meticulously researched. And as solid as that part of this story was, and a much as I love good well researched historical fiction, it was really hard for me to care.
The characters were so weak and silly and poorly developed I didn't really care for any of them. And if I don't care about the characters then the war is not really going to impact them in a way that is meaningful to me. Character dies- oh well I didn't really know anything about him or care for him anyway. Character tends to the wounded soldiers- oh she is acting all selfless now but that won't last. All of characters friends die in war- you barely even talked to that guy, why are you all upset?
You really can't focus on strong and accurate historical detail and just half-ass the rest of the book. If the characters are not well drawn and likable, they give the history no life! What a disappointment!
Ugh! Apparently this is one of the most historically accurate tellings of the Battle of Waterloo in all of fiction, meticulously researched. And as solid as that part of this story was, and a much as I love good well researched historical fiction, it was really hard for me to care.
The characters were so weak and silly and poorly developed I didn't really care for any of them. And if I don't care about the characters then the war is not really going to impact them in a way that is meaningful to me. Character dies- oh well I didn't really know anything about him or care for him anyway. Character tends to the wounded soldiers- oh she is acting all selfless now but that won't last. All of characters friends die in war- you barely even talked to that guy, why are you all upset?
You really can't focus on strong and accurate historical detail and just half-ass the rest of the book. If the characters are not well drawn and likable, they give the history no life! What a disappointment!
Read
May 28, 2024I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't knee deep in Napoleon's biographies because I'm just not sure how you follow it/care about 50% of the book if you don't get excited over Wellington's psychology during the Hundred Days.
HOWEVER: I am that person and I ended up having an okay time. The romance was pretty sweet and it is always interesting to read a book from a period before the structure of everything is so codified. I think of Heyer as staid and formulaic and even within that window, she still managed to surprise me more with her characterization than 90% of things published in 2024.
Bab in particular was great. If that difficult of a woman can exist in Heyer in 1937, why do we keep getting feminist heroines who are touted as novel additions to the genre? Bab was flighty and charming and scared of marriage and flirts with other men and she also treats men returning from Waterloo and shows her steel and gets a happily ever after. And she isn't a virgin!
Heyer's prose did occasionally want to gauge my eyes out, but I was pleasantly surprised. I can't imagine diving back into a Heyer anytime soon, but Waterloo goes along way with appeasing me.
HOWEVER: I am that person and I ended up having an okay time. The romance was pretty sweet and it is always interesting to read a book from a period before the structure of everything is so codified. I think of Heyer as staid and formulaic and even within that window, she still managed to surprise me more with her characterization than 90% of things published in 2024.
Bab in particular was great. If that difficult of a woman can exist in Heyer in 1937, why do we keep getting feminist heroines who are touted as novel additions to the genre? Bab was flighty and charming and scared of marriage and flirts with other men and she also treats men returning from Waterloo and shows her steel and gets a happily ever after. And she isn't a virgin!
Heyer's prose did occasionally want to gauge my eyes out, but I was pleasantly surprised. I can't imagine diving back into a Heyer anytime soon, but Waterloo goes along way with appeasing me.
October 18, 2017
I love Georgette Heyer and have read most of her books. This one, however, was a huge disappointment. Much of it was spent naming generals and colonels, talking troop movements, locations around Waterloo, and very little spent on the relationships between the main characters. Just to get through, I skimmed at least half the book and frankly missed nothing. The main female love interest was very unlikable & hardly redeemed herself in the end. Having read the previous book in the series, it made absolutely no sense why Charles Audley would be interested in her. If you want to learn about Wellington's Waterloo, I am sure there are far better books available. If you are wanting a great Georgette Heyer, this is not it.
October 15, 2011
As a child, I read lots of Georgette Heyer Regency romances, but as an older teenager turned to fantasy and other genres. It wasn't until recently that I discovered her two novels of the Napoleanic wars, "The Spanish Bride" and "An Infamous Army." Both have incredible historic detail. She said in her forward to one of these books that she had read every diarist (English soldiers) of these wars, in addition to all Wellington's dispatches.
June 26, 2022
An interesting historical fiction romance novel set in 1815 in Brussels and Waterloo. There are detailed descriptions of the battle of Waterloo.
This book was first published in 1937.
This book was first published in 1937.
September 6, 2021
Un accuratissimo affresco non soltanto storico ma anche sociale e di costume, al centro del quale si dipana la vicenda sentimentale dei due protagonisti molto ben caratterizzati, al pari di quelli secondari: la scandalosa, capricciosa e volitiva Barbara, personaggio molto complesso, e il solido, affascinante e acuto Charles, Una narrazione dei fatti vividissima che proietta il lettore nel mondo sfavillante dei balli, delle sontuose cene, delle gite fuori porta, delle parate militari della Bruxelles dell'epoca, come nel cuore delle drammatiche vicende belliche che culmineranno nella famosa battaglia di Waterloo...
January 18, 2013
This was a difficult book for me. For starters, I didn't go into it expecting (as I should have) such a strong focus on Waterloo and the war; I was expecting perhaps more focus on the war than in other Heyer books, but still primarily a romance novel. This is not that. This is primarily a story of the war, with a romance on the side.
There are characters that are mentioned briefly, painted in hasty strokes, then referred to later with the full expectation that you'll remember them. There are weighty descriptions of troop movements and military tactics, that one is tempted to skip. There are detailed references to the geography of Belgium that Heyer expects the reader to perfectly understand without recourse to a map, which is perhaps too high an expectation for the modern reader. But there is also a lengthy and detailed description of the Battle of Waterloo itself that Heyer draws with the same light touch and deft portraiture that she brings to her characterizations and dialogue, that pulls you in and makes you feel the pride and horror of that day. It's a tough read, for good and for bad, and it brings home the awfulness of war in a way that many books don't.
And it doesn't really have a happy ending. I mean, it *does*, kind of, but not in the way Heyer books normally do. No war story should have a truly happy ending, because that's not how war works in the real world, but I wasn't really prepared for that going into this book. It's still a Heyer novel, which means it's excellently written, but I'm not sure I liked it.
But! It does have not only cameo appearances by Dominic and Mary, Duke and Duchess of Avon, but also main character appearances by Julian and Judith, Earl and Countess of Worth, and Sir Peregrine Taverner. For someone who loved Regency Buck as much as I did, that was a palliative of no little Worth.
There are characters that are mentioned briefly, painted in hasty strokes, then referred to later with the full expectation that you'll remember them. There are weighty descriptions of troop movements and military tactics, that one is tempted to skip. There are detailed references to the geography of Belgium that Heyer expects the reader to perfectly understand without recourse to a map, which is perhaps too high an expectation for the modern reader. But there is also a lengthy and detailed description of the Battle of Waterloo itself that Heyer draws with the same light touch and deft portraiture that she brings to her characterizations and dialogue, that pulls you in and makes you feel the pride and horror of that day. It's a tough read, for good and for bad, and it brings home the awfulness of war in a way that many books don't.
And it doesn't really have a happy ending. I mean, it *does*, kind of, but not in the way Heyer books normally do. No war story should have a truly happy ending, because that's not how war works in the real world, but I wasn't really prepared for that going into this book. It's still a Heyer novel, which means it's excellently written, but I'm not sure I liked it.
But! It does have not only cameo appearances by Dominic and Mary, Duke and Duchess of Avon, but also main character appearances by Julian and Judith, Earl and Countess of Worth, and Sir Peregrine Taverner. For someone who loved Regency Buck as much as I did, that was a palliative of no little Worth.
September 28, 2018
I love Georgette Heyer and so love all of her books. But this one is extra special. It's not only the 3rd in the Alistair series, but the sequel to Regency Buck. In fact, it begins with Judith and Julian Worth in Brussells with their child and Judith's brother Peregrine and his wife Harriet and their children. The Worths are in Brussells at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and Napoleon has escaped from Elba and is trying to regain his empire. The Royalists in France have fled to Brussells and everyone is waiting for the Duke of Wellington to come and defend them (that is, all the English, etc. in Brussells). The days of wild enjoyment leading up to the battle of Waterloo are described. Judith, of course, is in the middle of it all and her brother-in-law Colonel Charles Audley is there too, on Wellington's staff.
A wonderful book and extremely well-researched. I have read that this book is studied at West Point for the accurante description of the battle of Waterloo. It's very exciting. Of course, Charles has a big part as aid-de-camp. The Alistairs are involved as the grandchildren of Dominique and Mary, who also make an appearance. Barbara Childe, their granddaughter has become engaged to Charles, but doesn't like the jokes and comments made over her finally settling down. She is a widow with a dangerous, daring reputation.
I love catching up with old friends from previous books.
A wonderful book and extremely well-researched. I have read that this book is studied at West Point for the accurante description of the battle of Waterloo. It's very exciting. Of course, Charles has a big part as aid-de-camp. The Alistairs are involved as the grandchildren of Dominique and Mary, who also make an appearance. Barbara Childe, their granddaughter has become engaged to Charles, but doesn't like the jokes and comments made over her finally settling down. She is a widow with a dangerous, daring reputation.
I love catching up with old friends from previous books.
Read
April 1, 2017I'm not as impressed with it as I was as a young reader--I know the sources of her Waterloo descriptions, and how she almost took them wholesale. That said, the way she researched the battle and tried to give it as realistic a treatment as possible while still holding onto her determined paradigm of the dashing and noble and heroic British aristocrats makes for a unique sort of a romantic adventure in the silver fork mode.
To bind the story together, she brings the heroine of Regency Buck to the descendants of the Alistairs, of These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, though you have to blink and pretend that there was another generation in there. I suspect she forgot that These Old Shades was after the '45 and not the '15, though Pompadour is clearly reigning over Versailles, and she was usually meticulous, so it's hard to say what happened.
Anyway, the characters are vivid enough to handle the powerful effect of Waterloo, beginning with the famous ball and carrying through to the horrific aftermath. Charles Audley is one of her best heroes, at least in my eyes, and Lady Barbara is a believable daughter of all those Mark I heroes.
To bind the story together, she brings the heroine of Regency Buck to the descendants of the Alistairs, of These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, though you have to blink and pretend that there was another generation in there. I suspect she forgot that These Old Shades was after the '45 and not the '15, though Pompadour is clearly reigning over Versailles, and she was usually meticulous, so it's hard to say what happened.
Anyway, the characters are vivid enough to handle the powerful effect of Waterloo, beginning with the famous ball and carrying through to the horrific aftermath. Charles Audley is one of her best heroes, at least in my eyes, and Lady Barbara is a believable daughter of all those Mark I heroes.
February 4, 2018
This is Heyer's take on the build-up to and the actual Battle of Waterloo, as seen through the eyes of her fictional participants. Her battle descriptions are superb, her depiction of Wellington is wonderful. The romance between the two main characters is so-so, but ultimately very satisfactory.
Not one of my favorites, but she never really wrote a bad book.
ETA: 4 Feb 2018--upped my rating to 4 stars from the original 3
Re-read with the Georgette Heyer Fans group. It has been years since I last re-read this and I found that I liked rather more than I remembered. The first half is a swirl of names and conversations that is relieved by the unlikely romance between Col Charles Audley and Lady Barbara Childe. Such a mismatched pair! The second half is much stronger, IMO. The social frivolities are replaced by the actual fighting; the civilian characters are now dealing with the realities of war. Our star-crossed lovers are re-united, with an HEA that is believable because it was so deeply earned.
Not one of my favorites, but she never really wrote a bad book.
ETA: 4 Feb 2018--upped my rating to 4 stars from the original 3
Re-read with the Georgette Heyer Fans group. It has been years since I last re-read this and I found that I liked rather more than I remembered. The first half is a swirl of names and conversations that is relieved by the unlikely romance between Col Charles Audley and Lady Barbara Childe. Such a mismatched pair! The second half is much stronger, IMO. The social frivolities are replaced by the actual fighting; the civilian characters are now dealing with the realities of war. Our star-crossed lovers are re-united, with an HEA that is believable because it was so deeply earned.
April 4, 2019
Why didn't I stop after the third book? Why?
An Infamous Army is the fourth book in Alastair-Audley series. It features the brother of the Regency Buck hero and the granddaughter of the couple from Devil's Cub. I loved those books and their characters. Heyer should have left them alone.
On the other hand I loved the hero in this one. He is, simply put, perfect.
As for the heroine, that's tricky. You start being annoyed at first until you actually see her. And I mean see her the way Colonel Charles Audley sees her from the beginning. So, you see, I'm torn on the rating.
The quarter of the book being about war, armies and battles doesn't help its case because i did not expect those at all. I don't mind such themes, but since the first three books didn't have anything similar, I could be forgiven for being surprised. It took me out of their story every time, although I loved the scenes with the wounded.
I'll just leave it in the middle, because I did like it.
An Infamous Army is the fourth book in Alastair-Audley series. It features the brother of the Regency Buck hero and the granddaughter of the couple from Devil's Cub. I loved those books and their characters. Heyer should have left them alone.
On the other hand I loved the hero in this one. He is, simply put, perfect.
As for the heroine, that's tricky. You start being annoyed at first until you actually see her. And I mean see her the way Colonel Charles Audley sees her from the beginning. So, you see, I'm torn on the rating.
The quarter of the book being about war, armies and battles doesn't help its case because i did not expect those at all. I don't mind such themes, but since the first three books didn't have anything similar, I could be forgiven for being surprised. It took me out of their story every time, although I loved the scenes with the wounded.
I'll just leave it in the middle, because I did like it.
January 6, 2017
My 16th Georgette Heyer
This is a great book but I don't think I was able to enjoy it fully. Had I never read it's pseudo-prequel Regency Buck, I would have enjoyed certain characters more and wouldn't have waited for them to ruin my fun. I spent half of this book waiting for the other shoe to drop, but when I relaxed, I became so enthralled with Barbara and Charles that I didn't mind the blow-by-blow description of the Battle of Waterloo.
This is a great book but I don't think I was able to enjoy it fully. Had I never read it's pseudo-prequel Regency Buck, I would have enjoyed certain characters more and wouldn't have waited for them to ruin my fun. I spent half of this book waiting for the other shoe to drop, but when I relaxed, I became so enthralled with Barbara and Charles that I didn't mind the blow-by-blow description of the Battle of Waterloo.
October 10, 2019
An Infamous Army, sometimes described as the third book in Georgette Heyer's Alastair Trilogy, is actually the sequel to a number of the author's earlier works, bringing together characters from three different storylines. The tale of dazzling Lady Barbara Childe, and her tempestuous engagement to Colonel Charles Audley, it is also the story of the prelude to, and conduct of, the famous battle of Waterloo. I understand that it is considered one of the finest descriptions ever written of that conflict, and has been used as a text at various military academies. In her introduction, the noted historical novelist Rosemary Sutcliff describes it as Heyer's finest book, the one "that stands tall above all the others, though it may not be the one for which we are best known."
Heyer readers will instantly recognize in Lady Barbara's grandparents the characters of Dominic and Mary, whose adventures are detailed in Devil's Cub , just as they will recognize Justin and Leonie of These Old Shades in her great-grandparents. Charles Audley, on the other hand, is first to be encountered in Heyer's light-hearted romance, Regency Buck , as is Lady and Lord Worth, and Sir Peregrine Taverner and his wife Harriet. Mention is also made of Harry Smith, the hero of The Spanish Bride , whose appearance in An Infamous Army is limited to one brief cameo during the course of the battle.
This wealth of associations with other Heyer titles should please her long-time readers, whose enjoyment of the story will be enhanced, I believe, by having read Devil's Cub , These Old Shades , and Regency Buck first. Although not strictly necessary for an understanding of the plot, these earlier novels will provide background knowledge of some of the characters' history and temperament, and give the story added poignancy.
I was tempted to give this novel five stars, as I am of the same mind as Ms. Sutcliff above, and consider An Infamous Army one of Heyer's finest works, intellectually engaging and emotionally involving. Her historical scholarship and research are top-notch, and I came away with a better understanding of this extraordinary moment in history, as well as a desire to learn more. The personal, romantic story was very moving, and Lady Bab and Charles are among the author's most believable and lovable characters.
The trouble, as many other reviewers have noted, is that the two strands of Heyer's narrative don't always sit very well together. They are both excellent, in their way, but it is almost as if one were reading two separate (but interconnected) novels, switching back and forth between them. This sense of disconnect was somewhat jarring, and prevents me from awarding this a full five stars.
However that may be, An Infamous Army offers the reader many rewards, from its wonderful portrait of Wellington, its moments of tender romance, and its heart-breaking scenes of human loss in the midst of the carnage of battle. Highly recommended to all readers, whether they are in the habit of reading Georgette Heyer or not...
Heyer readers will instantly recognize in Lady Barbara's grandparents the characters of Dominic and Mary, whose adventures are detailed in Devil's Cub , just as they will recognize Justin and Leonie of These Old Shades in her great-grandparents. Charles Audley, on the other hand, is first to be encountered in Heyer's light-hearted romance, Regency Buck , as is Lady and Lord Worth, and Sir Peregrine Taverner and his wife Harriet. Mention is also made of Harry Smith, the hero of The Spanish Bride , whose appearance in An Infamous Army is limited to one brief cameo during the course of the battle.
This wealth of associations with other Heyer titles should please her long-time readers, whose enjoyment of the story will be enhanced, I believe, by having read Devil's Cub , These Old Shades , and Regency Buck first. Although not strictly necessary for an understanding of the plot, these earlier novels will provide background knowledge of some of the characters' history and temperament, and give the story added poignancy.
I was tempted to give this novel five stars, as I am of the same mind as Ms. Sutcliff above, and consider An Infamous Army one of Heyer's finest works, intellectually engaging and emotionally involving. Her historical scholarship and research are top-notch, and I came away with a better understanding of this extraordinary moment in history, as well as a desire to learn more. The personal, romantic story was very moving, and Lady Bab and Charles are among the author's most believable and lovable characters.
The trouble, as many other reviewers have noted, is that the two strands of Heyer's narrative don't always sit very well together. They are both excellent, in their way, but it is almost as if one were reading two separate (but interconnected) novels, switching back and forth between them. This sense of disconnect was somewhat jarring, and prevents me from awarding this a full five stars.
However that may be, An Infamous Army offers the reader many rewards, from its wonderful portrait of Wellington, its moments of tender romance, and its heart-breaking scenes of human loss in the midst of the carnage of battle. Highly recommended to all readers, whether they are in the habit of reading Georgette Heyer or not...
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