 "Intriguing military story ... preposterous romance" | 2009-06-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: ARB9MPRLT2OBY |
I. Love. Georgette. Heyer. She rules. She rocks. Insert your soon-to-be-timeworn accolade here.
No one else can capture the meeting of spirits and minds that constitutes the beginning of true love the way Heyer can. In (almost all of) her romances, when hero and heroine first speak to each other, you know, immediately, that these two people -- no matter how unalike they appear -- are two of a kind. Their love is inevitable.
I've said all this, clumsily, because in "An Infamous Army," Heyer makes almost every mistake in the romance writer's book. Let's count 'em.
1. The heroine is too gorgeous to be true. Lesser writers commit this sin, but (normally) not Heyer. Every man wants her, and I do mean EVERY man. Yawn. In one scene, the heroine merely smiles at a man and he leaves the side of his pregnant wife to spend the evening in her company. Riiiiiiight.
2. The hero falls in love with her instantly ... because she's beautiful, and ONLY because she's beautiful. Did I mention he's 35 and universally described as sensible? I guess he fooled them!
3. The heroine is, for approximately 400 pages, selfish, capricious, ill-tempered and cruel. Yet we're supposed to root for her.
4. The hero is, for more than 400 pages, content to stand by the heroine's selfishness and cruelty and, at times, even defend her. He iz stoopid.
5. Most of the scenes that drive the romance plot are seen through the eyes of, not the hero, not the heroine, but the hero's sister-in-law ... who's already had her own book.
6. Did I mention how mean the heroine is? When it comes time to throw the reader a bone -- c'mon, don't hate the heroine! -- the best defense a character can come up with is to TELL (not show) us that occasionally the heroine has visited a sick soldier, rather than go to a ball. Given the number of balls we do see her attend, she must have cloned herself back in 1815 to accomplish the sickroom vigils. We never see her being kind, or courteous, or considerate, or even rueful. Ever.
7. Eventually, the hero has a falling out with the heroine. Go, hero! At this point you pray that Heyer will do something completely unexpected and find another heroine for Mr. Hero. And yet.
8. The heroine has a moment of redemption, in which she nurses injured soldiers with little complaint. This is admirable. If she were halfway likable, you could buy this experience as being enough to mature her. But. Heyer even has a character observe, drily, that the heroine's redemption might well wear off, once the drama of the battle is over. Word. I mean: WORD! But then the hero comes back from battle, wounded, and goodgawdalmighty, he takes the beeeeyatch back.
That was the sound of a book hitting Sheetrock.
9. There's a subplot that is mishandled, too, not only in being so confusing you need a chart to name the players, but also in forcing several characters to behave nastily ... just when you really need them to not be nasty. Yes, the heroine is one of them.
So. Heyer, the ultimate historical romance writer, really laid an egg with this love story.
But the story of Waterloo, of Wellington and his staff and the battle itself, is very well-done, if you like that sort of thing.
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 "An unexpected pleasure!" | 2009-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By chicbookfiend |
Spring and summer, 1815. It has been reported that Napoleon Bonaparte has left the isle of Elba and is marching down to France from the north. The Duke of Wellington and other commanders are gathering their armies to prepare for any potential attack, though most people think it will lead to nothing. The Duke describes his troops as an "infamous Army, very weak, and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced staff." You can cut the tension with a knife. As Europe prepares for battle, Colonel Charles Audley, during his stay in Brussels, falls for Lady Barbara Childe, a beautiful widow with a questionable reputation. She is a flirt, has broken many hearts, which is why everyone is shocked when she accepts the colonel's marriage proposal. Audley is a penniless soldier, and everyone thought that she would go for a wealthy gentleman. As the Battle of Waterloo looms and the people begin to flee the premises, the lady and her brave colonel embark upon a journey of self-discovery all their own...
I read this book about the same time as I reread Jane Austen's Emma, and I must say that it is difficult to pinpoint which one of the two I enjoyed reading the most. This is one of the best historical novels I have read in a very long time. Georgette Heyer describes Waterloo in such a way that you feel like you are there. She even describes the passage that Bonaparte takes in his effort to invade France. There is a main romantic plot centered on Lady Barbara and the Colonel, but the chapters that concentrate on the Duke of Wellington and the political affairs are much more fascinating. Put together, however, makes for a fascinating read. Georgette Heyer doesn't get enough credit for her novels. She -- like English contemporaries Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart and Anya Seton -- don't get the sort of praise that older novelists like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte get. Yet they deserve it, including Heyer, whose work includes some funny Regency romances, some of which I've read, but had also written intelligent historical fiction and dark mysteries. An Infamous Army, first published in 1937, is the perfect novel for those who love the Napoleonic era. Cannot recommend this enough! |
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 "Learning what the fuss was all about" | 2008-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: AGVH2UVB4QZSS |
This is my first read by Georgette Heyer. I've heard a lot about her, and I mean a lot, both from the historical fiction and the historical romance readers I know. She is the favorite of many, many readers. I was expecting a lot, and the book didn't disappoint. It is, in fact, a pleasing mix of romance and historical fiction.
Lady Barbara Childe is the female equivalent of a rake. She flirts with many men, but refuses to get married after her first atrocious attempt. Colonel Charles Audley, however, is determined, patient, understanding, and in love with Barbara. They quickly get engaged, but that isn't the end of the story, although it had me confused for a bit, wondering where they would go next. On the other hand, there is the lead up to the Battle of Waterloo. As one of the Duke's personal staff, Charles is bound to go to the fighting and a great deal of the book deals with the looming conflict and the battle itself.
I definitely was immersed in the period while reading this book. The beginning was a little slow because it takes time to get used to a whole different world. Heyer never slips out of it, and while the book was written a good 70 years ago, I still think that's impressive. The characters surprised me and jumped out of the page; especially Barbara, who is incredibly compelling and understandable by the end, despite the fact that she is about as different from me as possible.
The best part, however, was definitely Waterloo. The book alternates between Charles' family and the battle itself, giving us two viewpoints. Heyer does a brilliant job getting across the tension, the distress, and the complete alienation from the world that the patient loved ones are feeling. The battle scenes are astounding and even upsetting because the author puts you right into the army's shoes. This is historical fiction at its best, showing us what the past may have been like.
So now I begin to understand why Georgette Heyer is so popular. I've got another of hers waiting in my TBR pile and I'll be on the lookout for more. Her books are being reissued, so this may not be too difficult. The lovely cover above is the result of this reissue. |
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| "An Infamous army" | 2008-06-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A34ZXQAYXUQFSD |
After reading several reviews on this site I was a little bit reluctant to read this book specially when I saw someone had given only 3 stars. I guess I was in for a great surprise! This is the best novel I have ever read. It has everything war, romance etc.... I was surprised that some people didn't even see the romance between Charles and Barbara. Let me say one thing I grew up in a war (Beirut-Lebanon)and every emotion that people experience in this book is for real. Giving parties, dancing, falling in love from the first sight, horrors of war, people without limbs etc.........It's all real. I just couldn't put the book down. Thanks God I have been living in USA for the past 17 years, but you never forget those crazy days. I give 5 stars although the book deserves million stars. Her discription of Waterloo is sooooooooo correct which amazes me.Georgette Heyer is the best I wish she wrote more books :(
Anna |
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| "If you like history, and can pass up the romance" | 2008-05-27 |
| - Reviewed By dbernard60 |
| Georgette Heyer wrote a terrific history of Waterloo - so well done, in fact, that both Sandhurst (in the UK) and West Point (in the US) have used this book in their military classes. However, her popularity was largely for romances, and she inserts one here, which doesn't completely meld. If you like history, you may want to skip the fiction. If you like romance, you may want to skim past the battle details. If you like both, however, you will really enjoy this. A better work of Heyer's is "The Spanish Bride", which combines a true romance with the true military details of the Peninsular War. She has less difficulty joining the threads of that book, since the characters were real, and she took most of her information from their memoirs. As an aside, it is a mild pleasure to see the descendants or relatives of characters from other Heyer novels. |
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| "Brilliant account of the Battle of Waterloo" | 2008-05-01 |
| - Reviewed By cjcvo |
| A wonderful and accurate account of the Battle of Waterloo and evoking brilliantly the atmosphere in Brussels before, during and after the event. Heyer reintroduces characters from Regency Buck and Devil's Cub in a very realistic romantic story. The charming brother of the Earl of Worth, Charles Audley, falls heavily for Lady Barbara Childe, spoilt and headstrong grand-daughter of the Duke of Avon (Devil's Cub). Their story is anything but straightforward and is intertwined that of other characters both fictional and real. As usual Heyer's research is immaculate and the historical facts are seamlessly woven into the story. Like the Spanish Bride its really more of a history lesson than any of her other books but wonderfully done. |
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