My very latest Sarah Mallory novel, Return of the Runaway, is published next month, so I thought I
would give you a sneak preview of the cover.
When I sent Lady Cassandra off to France after her
scandalous elopement in The Chaperon's Seduction (Book 1 of The Infamous
Arrandales series) I had no idea what would happen to her, only that she would
have to come home eventually, having met the love of her life (I am writing
romance, after all!)
In 1802 the Treaty of Amiens brought a brief lull in
hostilities between Britain and France, but neither side expected it to last.
War was declared again in May 1803 and Bonaparte ordered the arrest of all
British males between the ages of 18 and 60 in France and Italy. Cassie and her
husband were among those detained, but when Cassandra is widowed and wants to
return to England, her journey is not straightforward and she needs help. Enter
Raoul Doulevant, a surgeon from Belgium who has his own reasons for wanting to
leave France.
The story was partly inspired by a book I picked up by
chance one day on a market stall. It is called Escape from the French and is
the story of Midshipman Maurice Hewson. In 1803 he was captured near Brest and
marched to the Fortress of Verdun. Eventually he managed to escape and after a
dangerous journey overcoming illness, police, customs officers and inquisitive
strangers he reached safety in Austria. The narrative of the rigours of his journey
were extremely useful to me in imagining Cassie and Raoul's flight.
Although Return of
the Runaway is set more than a decade before Waterloo, it was my research
for the famous battle of 1815 that inspired Raoul's character. It was then that
I learned about Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, Chief Surgeon to the French Army.
Larrey was described by Bonaparte as "The most virtuous man I have
known" and even Wellington noticed his courage under fire. (This is a portrait of Larry on the left, and I think he looks quite heroic, don't you?)
Larry was
instrumental in improving the medical support for the army and he also
developed the flying ambulance, a light carriage that could be used to
transport the wounded away from the battlefield.
Bringing together the granddaughter of a marquess and a
Belgian surgeon gave the story an added twist, for at that time surgery was not
considered a gentlemanly profession, so Raoul is even less acceptable to
Cassie's family than her first husband. Doctors were gentlemen and would be
invited to dine with the wealthiest families. They might study Latin and Greek
at university and attend lectures on medical procedures, but they rarely had
any practical experience - their profession was not supposed to include any
manual labour (a gentleman did not do any actual work!).
As a surgeon, Raoul was considered a tradesman because he worked
with his hands and actually carried out operations and was paid for his work
(doctors too were paid, of course, but discreetly). The role of surgeons had changed
in France since the revolution, and it was one of the reasons Raoul went to
study at the Hôtel Dieu, a major hospital in Paris. Surgery was also becoming
more respectable in England too, and after the founding of the Royal College of
Surgeons of London in 1800, it was customary for surgeons to take the
examination for Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons and put MRCS after
their name.
So, I had the background for my book and I put Cassie and
Raoul through a great deal before they reached their happy ending…. But if you
want to know how they achieved it, well, you will just have to read the book!
Melinda Hammond / Sarah Mallory
Return of the Runaway – Sarah Mallory. Published by Harlequin April 2016
Winter Inheritance – Melinda Hammond. Out now on Kindle
4 comments:
'Return of the Runaway' sounds like a terrific story, Sarah. I've always enjoyed books where hero and heroine are from different backgrounds; I like the possibilities of emotional tension which a clash of assumptions creates. I, too, found Maurice Hewson's 'Escape from the French' useful. In 'The Belvedere Tower', my heroine, co-incidentally also Cassandra, (we obviously share a liking for the name for heroines who escape!) was one of those swooped up when the Peace of Amiens broke down and ended up in Verdun.
I wish you the very best of luck with it.
The whole episode of British soldiers & citizens being detained in France is fascinating, Elizabeth, isn't it? So many tales to be woven around it. It has also given me a desire to see Verdun, which I had previously associated with WWI.
These days surgeons are highly respected, so it was interesting to see just how different opinions were in the early 19th century. Cassie's family are horrified at the thought of her marrying an artisan.
And the idea of two Cassandras in Verdun at the same time.... just think what we could do with that!
Thank you so much for dropping by.
This sounds like a wonderful story, Melinda. Thanks for this great post and for telling us about all those amazing people!
Thanks Joana, there is so much more I could say about surgeons & doctors and the medical conditions in the army at that time. It is such a fascinating subject... if a little gruesome!
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