"Irish author uncovers the story of Napoleon’s 'forgotten'" Topic
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28 Mar 2020 3:23 p.m. PST by Editor in Chief Bill
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Tango01 | 28 Mar 2020 3:07 p.m. PST |
…Irish Legion. "THE HUNDREDS OF Irish men who fought during the Napoleonic Wars have been reimagined in a new historical fiction novel which aims to shed a light on a piece of forgotten history. Stephen McGarry, author of Napoleon's Blackguards, told TheJournal.ie that the Irish men who fought in many of the defining battles in the 18th and early 19th centuries have been long forgotten. He's hoping his historical fiction book will change that. While writing his 2013 non-fiction book Irish Brigades Abroad, McGarry accumulated a lot of research on French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's Irish Legion, an actual regiment in the French army…" Main page link Amicalement Armand |
SHaT1984 | 28 Mar 2020 3:44 p.m. PST |
Convenient inflammatory publishers language- there's a dozen books and everywhere mentioned among Napoleons 'foreign' troops for uniforms etc. And if you have 'facts' why make a fictional novel? A la B.Cornwall I suspect? I'm yet to see one on the 'Emperors Cousins', the Tirailleur Corse, as one of the most successful [non-French] light regiments in the Army (including after 1811 'reorgansiation') even as 11e Legere. IIWII… dave |
newarch | 29 Mar 2020 3:12 a.m. PST |
Bearing in mind that the most successful Napoleonic novel series on the market has Irish soldiers featured very prominently throughout then yes I would say this is publishers hype. |
Lilian | 29 Mar 2020 8:13 a.m. PST |
and especially when every napoleonic amateur knows that the so-called Irish Legion was more a polish legion than anything else :/ |
ConnaughtRanger | 29 Mar 2020 2:09 p.m. PST |
Given that so many aspects of the Napoleonic Wars are "forgotten", it's amazing just how many books get published each year? |
Tango01 | 29 Mar 2020 3:18 p.m. PST |
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Historydude18 | 29 Mar 2020 7:50 p.m. PST |
Please let's see definitive English books on Wagram, Aspern-Essling, Rivoli, Arcole, Bailen, and Jena first. |
Front Door | 30 Mar 2020 2:27 a.m. PST |
Some of the comments below that article are laughable! 'If Napoleon had one there would have been no WW1 or WW2' – really?!! |
Tango01 | 30 Mar 2020 10:56 a.m. PST |
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Gazzola | 04 Apr 2020 7:56 a.m. PST |
Lilian Although the Legion contained a large amount of Poles in 1806, 'a significant number were, of all things, Irishmen – the survivors of of some political prisoners of the 1798 rebellion who (it is alleged) were sold by the British government to the King of Prussia for service in his army.' (page 175, Napoleon's Mercenaries by Guy Dempsey) And in 1813, although more a foreign regiment, containing many nationalities, including French (57), Hungarian (99), Italian (4), Russian (15), Polish (40), Saxon (21), Bavarian (17) Duchy of Berg (7) etc, not to mention 5 from the United States and Prussian (42) and Austrian (52), the Legion still contained 65 Irishmen. This suggest that, of the 25 nationalities, the Irish were the third largest. (Table 9: page 182 Napoleon's Mercenaries) This didn't stop the Legion being rewarded for some of their actions, including Irishmen. |
Gazzola | 04 Apr 2020 8:23 a.m. PST |
Had problems getting back on TMP, which is why I'm late responding to topic. I'm reading the novel now. It is a bit like Sharpe meets the Duellists. And I do think stronger editing would have made the reading less predictable and annoying in places, But if readers can ignore the fact that Cornwall's Sharpe never captured an Eagle, then there is no reason to complain of McGarry's Ryan capturing the Legions lost eagle from Spanish Guerrillas. (appologies if that is a spoiler for would be readers but there's plenty more action and events in the narrative) And, like every historical novel, there are areas that will grate on your teeth, but the reader has to remember this is, again like all historical novels, a work of fiction. More importantly for us on these boards, it has a Napoleonic content and background. And at least the author hasn't attempted the main character to be Napoleon or Wellington, which I've yet to see any author successfully do. I think, unless the reader is a purist, in which everything has to be correct and true and actually happened (eg: no French black uniformed Hussars of Death in Spain at this time etc) you can just try and enjoy the story, which, after all, is what it is. All novels are stories and if readers intend to look for facts and seek out historical errors and faults, then I would suggest they stick to non-fiction titles. The novel is a bit of escapism (and I think we all need a bit of that at this time) and fun to read. Above all, it is Napoleonic and a land based adventure from the other side, rather than the usual British point of view. At this stage, I don't know how the novel will end but I am looking forward to seeing what happens. |
Tango01 | 11 Apr 2020 12:42 p.m. PST |
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Gazzola | 27 Apr 2020 8:25 a.m. PST |
I've read the novel, and, although I would recommend anyone reading it, some will not see the author as being very original. Firstly, touching on Cornwell's Sharpe series, there is the event in which a French eagle is captured. However, in this case, it is the eagle belonging to the Irish Legion which is taken by Spanish Guerrillas. Ryan, the main character and basically an Irish Sharpe fighting for the French, recaptures it. And bit too easily for my liking. Then there is the so called constant duelling between Ryan and French cavalryman (Death Hussars) Carpentier, similar to that of the constant duelling in the Duellists, but in this case, the duelling is mainly talked about and not experienced, with only one real duel described by the author. Ryan's hunt and desire for revenge against the British Captain Darkford who killed his family in Ireland, is also talked about more than actually experienced, and again, there is only one real fight between Ryan and Darkford offered for the reader. Sadly, the result is that there is no real build up, tension or expectation created relating to Ryan bumping into and confronting either Darkford or Carpentier. The author also employs the event when British Rifleman Plunket shot a French General (Colbert), but he replaces Plunket with an Irishman in the same regiment. A whole chapter is dedicated to this event, which seemed out of place with the rest of the narrative and feels included just as a way to get the Irishman captured and persuaded to join the Irish Legion. Also, as far as I am aware, the Irish Legion were not present at the Battle of Corunna and there were no French Death Hussars, dressed all in black, in Spain at this time. On the positive side, the story is Napoleonic and there are not that many new Napoleonic novels appearing these days. It is also interesting that the author has attempted to show events from a French (or in this case, Irish fighting for the French) point of view. It is not a new perspective, of course, with Forester doing it partly in his 1932 novel, Death To The French. However, if readers can ignore the fact that Cornwell's Sharpe never captured a French Eagle, then the reader should be able to ignore the historical inaccuracies within this novel, as annoying as they may be. In short, anyone looking for a pure historically accurate read, should not read historical novels and especially not this one. But if they want to enjoy a fictional Napoleonic adventure (and there are not that many around) then this book is well worth reading. I feel that the author has perhaps tried to include too much and too many historical events, perhaps in an attempt to create a fast moving pace, but sometimes less is more and more enjoyable to boot. Overall, I hope the author is considering a second novel and I will certain be looking forward to it. |
138SquadronRAF | 27 Apr 2020 1:12 p.m. PST |
Considering it's had at least one decent study "Napoleon's Irish Legion" by Professor John G. Gallaher, it's hardly forgotten |
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