An Infamous Army: A Novel of Wellington, Waterloo, Love and War (Historical Romances)

From Library Journal This must be the most accurately researched and detailed battle description that has ever appeared in a book of romantic fiction. The battle itself, and the weeks before and after it, forms the time line and backbone of this novel. The title refers to the Duke of Wellington's unkind nickname for the motley collection of national armies under his command in 1815 at Waterloo. Set in Brussels, as the French and Allied forces are converging, Heyer's story concerns the stormy courtship between Lady Barbara Childe and Col. Charles Audley. Lady Barbara, forced into an unloving and ugly marriage in her youth, has buried her hated husband and become a scandalous widow. Colonel Audley is a popular member of the Duke of Wellington's staff who knows the wicked widow's reputation but falls for her anyway; after their first meeting, he proposes marriage. Lady Barbara, fascinated by this direct attack on her defenses, consents to an engagement but refuses to restrain her shocking behavior. The Battle of Waterloo in all its glorious and horrifying detail then becomes the center around which the book's characters orbit. Definitely a romance for the historically minded reader, there is no fluff here. As the conflict rages, Lady Barbara helps to nurse the wounded men who wander back into the city, learning much about life, death, and love in the process. No magical happy endings occur, just the contentment of two people who have grown into their love for one another. Well read by Clare Higgins, An Infamous Army is highly recommended for public libraries. Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product Description On the eve of battle, passions are running high... ''A brilliant achievement...vivid, accurate, dramatic...the description of Waterloo is magnificent.''-DAILY MAIL ''My favorite historical novelist.''-MARGARET DRABBLE IN THE SUMMER OF 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life and war... ''Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to.'' -KATIE FFORDE *A novel of Wellington, Waterloo, love and war.* In the summer of 1815, beneath the aegis of the Army of Occupation, Brussels is the gayest town in Europe. And the red-haired widow Lady Barbara Childe, renowned for being as outrageous as she is beautiful, is at the centre of the social whirl and of all that is fashionable and light-hearted. However, the city was a nest of intrigue --Napoleon threatened Europe--but the talk was only of this dazzling and tempestuous young. Every brilliant ball, supper, and concert in the feverish spring seemed to bring her a new conquest by storm. She is the talk of the ton. She flirts shamelessly, dresses outrageously, and scandalizes polite society. That doesn't stop one of her adorers--the dashing Colonel Charles Audley, an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington-- from falling madly in love with the beautiful young widow--and proposing marriage. Threatened by the growing tide of scandal, she allowed Colonel Charles Audley to claim her for his bride. The eve of the fateful Battle of Waterloo, their betrothal falls apart. It isn't until Charles marches off to fight Napoleon that Barbara discovers where her heart lies. Now, she can do nothing but wait as the battle rages, praying for the safety of the one man who can set her free from her wild impulses. But as the clouds of war gathered, he turned from her in a sudden, mysterious indifference. Stunned, bewildered, Barbara wondered what secret she must fathom, what new seduction must she devise, to regain the one man who--she ruefully realized--had truly claimed her heart? On the eve of battle, passions are running high...

"A brilliant achievement...vivid, accurate, dramatic...the description of Waterloo is magnificent."-DAILY MAIL

"My favorite historical novelist."-MARGARET DRABBLE

IN THE SUMMER OF 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life and war...

"Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to."
-KATIE FFORDE

On the eve of battle, passions are running high...IN THE SUMMER OF 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life and war..."Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyerachieves what the rest of us only aspire to."—Katie Fforde"A brilliant achievement...vivid, accurate, dramatic...the description of Waterloo is magnificent."—Daily Mail "My favorite historical novelist."—Margaret Drabble In 1815, the British military community in Brussels await Napoleon and his army. Barbara Childe, an outrageous flirt and free spirit, arrives, turning all the men's heads and outraging the conventional. Colonel Audley falls for her, and she is attracted to him, but their relationship comes under strain. The Duke of Wellington prepares to lead his 'infamous' army against the French; the Battle of Waterloo (described grippingly and at length) brings resolution to both the military and romantic situations