Barbara and the Battle of Waterloo

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Barbara and the Battle of Waterloo ( An Infamous Army ) is a novel by Georgette Heyer . It first appeared in the original in 1937, the German first edition by Paul Zsolnay Verlag in 1959 in a translation by Emi Ehm . The novel takes place in 1815 and is the final part of the Alistair trilogy .

action

In the early summer of 1815, numerous members of the British nobility were in Brussels and awaiting the arrival of the Duke of Wellington , whose troops were already there after Emperor Napoleon and his army advanced from the south to the north. Among the local British is the beautiful and cynical Lady Barbara Childe, a member of the Alistair family, notorious for their hot temperament. Lady Barbara was married by her parents at a young age to a much older man who treated her badly. Since his death, she has been determined to enjoy life and not let any man rule her. It turns the heads of all men and therefore meets with great rejection from the women in Brussels.

Lady Judith Worth (Judith Taverner from Die Jungfernfalle ) is also averse to Barbara Childe and therefore all the more horrified when her serious brother-in-law Charles Audley, a member of Wellington's staff, becomes engaged to her head over heels after a short acquaintance. When Charles Audley reproaches Barbara for meeting Judith's brother Peregrine for dinner and his pregnant wife is deadly unhappy because of it, she breaks the engagement because she feels patronized. Lady Worth tries from now on to bring her brother-in-law Charles together with her protégé Lucy Devenish, without realizing that she is secretly married to Lady Barbara's brother, Lord George Alistair. Lucy confides in Charles Audley, who from then on takes care of her, which Judith interprets as a growing affection.

On June 15, 1815, the distinguished society of Brussels met at the Duchess of Richmond's ball . After during the ball, the officers leave the company as Napoleon's troops have moved closer. The next day there is the battle of Quatre-Bras . Lady Barbara stands in front of the Worths door and asks for the accommodation of her horses, since her sister-in-law and her brother have fled; she herself wants to move into a hotel without a chaperone . Lord Worth tells them to live in his house as his brother Charles would expect him to. Judith has to put up with it against her will.

In the course of the battle, many wounded soon arrive in Brussels, and Judith and Barbara take to the streets to take care of the soldiers. The two women come closer and Judith realizes that Barbara is courageous and empathetic under her supposedly vain shell. Numerous participants in the Duchess of Richmond's ball are killed among the fighters, including Barbara's brother Lord Harry. Charles Audley survives the fighting but has one leg amputated.

The fighting and the further course of the Battle of Waterloo are described in detail; the author Georgette Heyer used many contemporary sources written by those involved. Because of this part of the book, it is considered "atypical" for Heyer. It is said that these passages are recommended reading at British military academies.

While most Britons have since left Brussels, Barbara's grandparents - the Duchess and Duke of Avon (Mary Challoner and Lord Dominic Vidal from Escapades ) - are delighted to hear the news of their broken engagement in Brussels had. Barbara dumps her Belgian admirer Count Lavisse and makes up with Charles Audley.

main characters

  • Lady Barbara Childe
  • Colonel Charles Audley
  • Judith Audley (nee Taverner), Lady Worth
  • Julian St. John Audley, Lord Worth
  • Harriet (nee Fairfield), Lady Taverner
  • Sir Peregrine ("Perry") Taverner
  • Miss Lucy Devenish
  • Lord George Alistair
  • Lord Harry Alistair
  • Count Lavisse
  • Mary Alastair (nee Challoner), Duchess of Avon
  • Dominic Alastair, Duke of Avon
  • Duke of Wellington

expenditure

The book has been published by several publishers since 1959 and in numerous editions. The paperback, first published by Rowohlt in 1967, was published in 154,000 copies.

literature

  • Mary Fahnestock-Thomas: Georgette Heyer. A Critical Retrospective . Prinny World Press, Saraland, Al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-9668005-3-1 , pp. 108-114 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ * Mari Ness: A Recreation of War: Georgette Heyer's An Infamous Army. In: tor.com. March 24, 2015, accessed May 15, 2020 .