I have been writing Georgian and Regency romantic adventures
for decades now, and one cannot research the period without coming up against
the dark shadow of war. England and France had been at war, off and on, for
centuries, it affected everyone's lives, from trivial problems such as where to
buy French brandy, to families fearing for their loved ones who were in the
army or navy.
I make no apology for my first illustration of this post - Cornwell may not write "romantic novels", but there can be no doubt that this guy sets many hearts a-flutter!)
As a romantic novelist I am writing an entertainment, but
although the main theme of my books may be love, and the reader is guaranteed a
happy ending, I also like to acknowledge at least some of the realities of life
in the Georgian and Regency period, and very often that means alluding to war
in some way. My latest Sarah Mallory novel, The Duke's Secret Heir, is partly
set in Harrogate, and even in this genteel watering place the consequences of
war make themselves felt: the duke is there to visit his closest friend, an
ex-soldier who is surviving with a bullet lodged in his lung.
There were breaks in the hostilities between England and
France. One of them was the short-lived Treaty of Amiens, which lasted for just
over a year from March 1802. I used this period as the setting for another story,
where I sent my newlyweds careering across France. War was declared again
before they could complete their journey back to England and they had to use a
great deal of ingenuity to escape, so it proved a very adventurous honeymoon! At
one point, as their coach hurtled through a hostile village, it was pelted with
sabots by the locals (and it is said that the word sabotage derives from the disgruntled French workers from about this time, throwing their
wooden clogs into the machinery to damage it). I had great fun with this book,
and it remains a firm favourite, a lively tale despite the fearful danger
surrounding my couple. It is currently e-published as To Marry a Marquis in the
Ladies in Love box-set, available on Amazon.
One of the turning points for the Regency was the Battle of
Waterloo – "a damn close-run thing," as Wellington described it.
Perhaps it was growing up in a street full of boys and playing war games most
evenings and holidays that gave me a liking for action, and I find military
history fascinating. However, I write romance, and mainly from the female point
of view, so most of my books show the aftermath of war rather than the battles
themselves. Most ladies were kept well away from scenes of conflict, even
soldiers' wives and the camp followers did not venture onto the battlefield
itself until after the event. However, in A Lady for Lord Randall ,my Sarah
Mallory book for the Brides of Waterloo series, the hero is a colonel, and I
did put in a large battle scene, which I thoroughly enjoyed writing! |
| Hand to hand fighting at Hougoumont |
Fascinating as it might be, war is a dark and desperate
business. When I was refreshing one of my early Melinda Hammond novels ready to
re-publish it as an e-book , I had quite a surprise. I had forgotten just how much description I had included about Waterloo. In Maid of Honour, my
heroine, Lucy, travels to Brussels in June 1815. She attends Lady Richmond's
Ball, probably the most famous party of all time, and unlike most of her
non-military compatriots, she remains in Brussels during the battle. Maid of
Honour is written mainly from the heroine's point of view, and since it was not
the hero, but Lucy's childhood sweetheart Tom who is the soldier, I wrote this
part of the story as Lucy would have experienced it.
On the day of the battle
itself she mistook the rumble of guns for thunder over Brussels, until a crippled old veteran explained.
Then, fleeing cavalry careered through the town proclaiming that all was lost,
the Allies were defeated and Bonaparte would be in Brussels by nightfall.
Lucy is advised to leave the city
but she is determined to remain, and when at last she learns that Napoleon has
been defeated, she waits anxiously for Tom's return. When she learns his
regiment was caught up in some of the bloodiest fighting near Hougoumont she
sets out to look for him on the battlefield itself. Here's a brief excerpt: (NB
if you are of a nervous disposition, you may want to skip this bit!)
***
It seemed to Lucy that the full horror of the battle was spread below
her. The ground was covered with the dead, men and horses entangled in a
nightmare pattern, the garish colours of the uniforms dulled by mud and grime
and dried blood. Scores of French cavalry had died attacking the British
squares, yet the men who had shot them down now lay dead in the very formations
they had fought so hard to maintain. That anyone could come out of the battle
alive seemed to Lucy to be nothing less than a miracle. A movement caught her
eye and she saw grey-cloaked women moving amongst the dead, taking rings and
watches, even pulling teeth from the corpses to sell in the markets of Brussels
and London.
***
She finally finds Tom in one of
the field hospitals. These are little more than a huddle of tents with overworked medical
officers and surgeons doing their best to save lives. There was very little
they could do – there were no
painkillers or antibiotics, and surgeons would remove an injured limb in an
attempt to save a man. It was crude, brutal, and those who did not die of their
wounds often succumbed to infection. This section of the book is dark,
perhaps, but I wanted to show the horror Lucy was experiencing. She was a young
woman from a privileged background, accustomed to a safe, comfortable home.
Suddenly she finds herself in a nightmare world where she has to draw on all
her strength of character to get through it.
A romance needs a backdrop, and
there is no doubt that wartime provides one of the most dramatic. Whether the
characters are in physical danger themselves, or living with the uncertainty of
what may happen to their loved ones, war adds an extra dimension to a story.
What is your favourite wartime
romance? Is it perhaps a literary classic like War & Peace or an epic like
Gone With the Wind? Or maybe it's a romance by Carla Kelly, or Louise Allen?
There are so many to choose from, so wartime romance clearly strikes a chord
with many readers.
4 comments:
So interesting how you've woven war into your plots. I've only once written a battle and that was in a so far unpublished novel. The Battle of Dettingen in mid-18th century was a fiasco and the only reason the British won was because the French marshal made a series of errors of judgement. But the cavalry took tremendous losses as they had to stand facing cannon from across the river. My hero's particular regiment was decimated. It's a horrifying tale, but I must say I enjoyed writing it. One of these days, it might see the light of day, but it needs extensive rewriting as it was a very early book and I really didn't know what I was doing!
Thank you Elizabeth, ware is such a major part of our history that I think it is necessary to mention it where appropriate, although it doesn't happen in every book!
I do hope you finish your Dettingen book - that period of history is not so well known as Waterloo and deserves and outing.
I share your interest in military history, Sarah/Melinda. I like knowing how the system worked: who did the cooking, mending, washing, for example? We can guess the answer, of course. The women who followed the soldiers are the unsung heroines of the Napoleonic war campaigns, in my view.
My favourite Regency novel with a war setting is probably Georgette Heyer's 'Spanish Bride', the real life love story of Captain Harry Smith and the fourteen-year-old Juana Los Dolores de Leon. Heyer gives us an unflinching view of the dusty, gritty everyday realities of camp life, the wearisome marches and the terrors of battle.
Incidentally, I've just read your 'Disgrace and Desire' which opens with a very graphic scene of carnage after the Battle of Waterloo which pulled me into the story immediately. Terrific read.
I agree, The Spanish Bride is wonderful, Elizabeth H. I found it quite difficult at times, because as you say, Heyer did not flinch from showing us the hardships involved.
And thank you so much for the kind words about Disgrace & Desire - it is still one of my favourite books!
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