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Forget the glory
First published 1985 · 621 pages
A sweeping historical saga that strips away the glittering facade of 19th-century military life to reveal the gritty, disillusioning realities of war and forbidden desire.
What it feels like
This sweeping historical saga immerses readers in the stark contrast between the glittering pageantry of the 19th-century British military and the harrowing realities of the Crimean War. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, carrying the reader from the sun-drenched, superficial parades of colonial India through brutal sandstorms and devastating cholera outbreaks. The mood is fraught and atmospheric, steeped in the heavy burdens of duty, nightmare guilt, and marital disillusionment. Beneath the grand military movements lies an intimate, tormented emotional core, driven by a forbidden, class-crossing attraction and a profound questioning of wartime glory. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave dramatic, earnest historical fiction that balances epic, dangerous journeys with deep internal conflict and resilience.
- Mood
- harsh
- romantic
- atmospheric
- fraught
- Tone
- dramatic
- earnest
- reflective
- sweeping
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the illusion of glory · class divides · burdens of duty · survival and resilience · forbidden attraction
- The writing
- Descriptive and sweeping, balancing the grand scale of military history with intimate, tormented internal monologues.
- The arc
- Moves from the hollow pageantry of peacetime military life to the harrowing, disillusioning realities of war and forbidden love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sweeping historical sagas that contrast the glittering facade of the 19th-century British military with the gritty realities of war and class-crossing romance.
Content notes
- war violence
- epidemic illness
- torture
- death of a spouse
- animal death
About the book
Because of a scandal back in England, Captain Rowan DeMayne, son of an earl, was forced to join the 43rd Light Dragoons, whose seven years in India were mainly spent parading in splendid uniforms on matched chestnut horses. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Mary, widowed twice, is determined to improve her lot, and will eventually become lady's maid to Rowan's "beautiful shell" of a wife. Then at last--the 43rd is going to war! Rowan joyfully announces this on horseback to a stunned ballroom. While the over 600 men and 750 fine horses journey through exotic and dangerous terrain to relieve the decimated troops in the Crimea, there'll be a cholera epidemic and sandstorms, deaths and one pathetic desertion, and Rowan will battle storms within: marital disillusion; nightmare guilt about his (honorable) refusal to prevent the torture death of a bandit's girl; doubts about the glory of war; and his inexplicable attraction to the lowly Mary.
Description from Open Library.
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