≫ [PDF] The Spanish Bride Georgette Heyer 9780099474456 Books

The Spanish Bride Georgette Heyer 9780099474456 Books

Download As PDF : The Spanish Bride Georgette Heyer 9780099474456 Books

The Spanish Bride Georgette Heyer 9780099474456 Books

This is at once a great novel of the peninsular war - I'm a particular fan of all the Sharpe novels - and a famous and rather extraordinary romance. Brigade Major Harry Smith rescues 14 yr old Juanita from the sack of Badajoz and marries her out of hand, over the objection of all his friends, who prophesy darkly that it will the ruin of one of Wellesley's finest young officers. For the next few years, Juanita "follows the drum", accompanying Harry throughout the war and insisting she not be the cause of him shirking his duty in even the most minor particular. Juanita and Harry were real people. There is a town in South Africa called Ladysmith and all over the British Commowealth you will run into the name, usually as a street name. Towards the end of his life, the by-now General Sir Harry was named Governor of Cape Colony in South Africa. The popularity of his wife gave rise to the town name.


Tags : The Spanish Bride [Georgette Heyer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. With the same ardour he so frequently displays in battle, Brigade-Major Harry Smith dives headlong into marriage. In his beautiful child-bride,Georgette Heyer,The Spanish Bride,Arrow,009947445X,Fiction Historical,General & Literary Fiction,Fiction

The Spanish Bride Georgette Heyer 9780099474456 Books Reviews

This author's books will probably never lose their appeal. Although the plots of the romances are as predictable as those of a romance must be, the characterisation is substantial, the dialogue is deftly phrased and the background details are so thoroughly researched and so redolent of authenticity that the plots have a firm foundation on which the satirical wit of Ms Heyer can dart to and fro, skewering her characters and taking the reader further into blissful escape from reality with each delightful line.
The Spanish Bride is a departure from the usual format of the Heyer regency romance but this is a welcome departure. The book is the story of an improbable romance that is based on reality and backed by an impeccable body of research; the reader is truly taken on a historic journey. Readers of An Infamous Army will be familiar with Ms Heyer's stunning detail of the Battle of Waterloo, deservedly used as reference material by scholars. I found the descriptions of the Spanish campaign in the Spanish Bride to be equally excellent, with the often tragic details lightened by the thread of this wonderful romance woven throughout.
People who are expecting the "usual" Heyer frothy Regency novel will not like this book.

HOWEVER if you, like me, have read every Georgette Heyer book (yes, I have!) AND are interested in her really excellent HISTORICAL "narratives" (such as "The Conqueror" and the combined fictional romance/true story of Waterloo "An Infamous Army", wherein she tells true history but must call it a novel), you will love this book.

According to Jane Aiken Hodge's definitive biography, "The Private World of Georgette Heyer" (long out of print and available now HERE in trade PB), this book is based in the memoirs of Capt. Harry Smith of the famous 95th Rifle Brigade, the only "foot regiment" to have "modern" Baker rifles and the first to wear "camouflage" colored uniforms.

While not an easy read, it is of interest to any wanting to know more about the Peninsular War and what it was like to be in Wellington's Army. It is not surprising that few if any books exist that delve into that world as Harry Smith's memoirs and this book do, as it was dull stuff compared to romantic fiction. But it is real and accurate, as is the Waterloo narrative in "An Infamous Army", which is told from the viewpoint of a fictional character whio was in the thickest of the action. (Noted historian Christopher Hibbert once called it "The best told narrative of the battles of Waterloo I have ever read" or words to that effect.)

If you want to get "into" the world of the Peninsular War, you will have to read this book. It is a great resource for would-be authors who cannot find a copy of Capt. Smith's memoirs.

This story is indeed true, though "Heyer-ized". Harry Smith did indeed rescue Juana from the marauding and victorious British troops after the devastating and bloody siege of Badajoz and marry her. The marauding lasted three days until Wellington began hanging the offenders. Wellington never approved of "revenging" the dead British troops, but the siege lasted so long and the victory cost so much that there was no stopping the men short of killing them, which many officers like Harry Smith did.

Juana did "follow the drum" with Harry throughout the rest of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. Other nonfiction biographies and write-ups of the period usually mention his memoirs as reference material. Harry and Juana were very well known and liked by troops from all regiments and of all ranks.

Harry Smith was very unusual; he made the Army his career as he had no other and he was not of the aristocracy. But he was in the right place; at a time when "rising through the ranks" was not possible without wealth (as officers were usually "commissioned", that is, they bought their rank), he eventually rose to Brigadier General rank. The 95th was really the only regiment where this was possible. In other regiments, he might have remained a sergeant his entire career.

Serious Wellington, Regency and Heyer fans must have this book in their collection. Again, not everyone will like it.
I love books about Regency England, especially well researched, accurate ones, which this one certainly is. It presents England as it existed in the Peninsular Wars. I enjoy the descriptions of clothes and uniforms, learning the minutia of an Army on the move, picking up slang that was current 200 years ago. I gave this book to my daughter and told her that every character mentioned by name was a real person who really lived or died as depicted in the book. I recommend this book as a great read and another "An Infamous Army" which describes English life in Brussels before Napoleon absconded from Elba and continues through Waterloo.
This is at once a great novel of the peninsular war - I'm a particular fan of all the Sharpe novels - and a famous and rather extraordinary romance. Brigade Major Harry Smith rescues 14 yr old Juanita from the sack of Badajoz and marries her out of hand, over the objection of all his friends, who prophesy darkly that it will the ruin of one of Wellesley's finest young officers. For the next few years, Juanita "follows the drum", accompanying Harry throughout the war and insisting she not be the cause of him shirking his duty in even the most minor particular. Juanita and Harry were real people. There is a town in South Africa called Ladysmith and all over the British Commowealth you will run into the name, usually as a street name. Towards the end of his life, the by-now General Sir Harry was named Governor of Cape Colony in South Africa. The popularity of his wife gave rise to the town name.