50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You might want to fast forward through the Battle stuff, December 12, 2000
A sweeping romance of Lady Barbara, fiery tempered grand-daughter of theDuke of Avon and one of Wellington's Aide-de-camp's, Charles Audley. Set against Napoleon's Hundred Days. A mere three months in Brussells which culminated in the battle of Waterloo.
For confirmed Heyer fans this novel is the conclusion of two series. It winds up the affairs of the Dukes of Avon who we have read about through The Black Moth, These Old Shades, and Devil's Cub. And the affairs of the Earl of Worth's younger brother, first introduced to us in Regency Buck. An Infamous Army is the last time Heyer wrote a sequel. The book is immaculately researched and comes with a formidable bibliography of sources used. As Heyer was also best friends with Carola Oman, whose father Charles wrote one of the seminal works of the Peninsular War and Waterloo, she had impeccable sources at hand for this book.
Many people might be put off by the long battle descriptions of Waterloo towards the end of thestory, if you aren't interested in military history then much of the detail can be fast forwarded through - although bear in mind that Sandhurst, that most British of officer training instituions has used Heyer's book as a study piece for this battle. This is no light-weight rehashing of the facts.
I find myself torn by the this book. It is very good, and the story of Charles and Lady Barbara gripping - but the mix of the two styles - Historical battle description and fictional romance just doesn't work well for me. I find that I compare this book with MM Kaye's novel, The Far Pavillion's in which there is a long description of the seige at Kabul . I skim over that section whenever I re-read it - but you can't skim them completely, you see both books have two of the saddest events tucked away in the middle of the battle scence. Scenes which make me howl with tears each time I read them. In Kaye it is the death of Wally, in An Infamous Army there is an equally gut-wrenching death - but I won't tell you because it might spoil the book for you. Heyer deals with the event so well, it is stripped of pathos and false emotion.
An Infamous Army was written in 1937, and shows all the strengths and weaknesses of Heyer's style. Her incredible attention to detail, her ability to blend various sources into a gripping story, and yet while the book is very good, it struggles between its desire to be a serious attempt to represent the battle of Waterloo, and its need to be a romantic novel.
I find this conflict apparent in most of Heyer's Historic novels (Spanish Bride, Great Roxhythe, The Conqueror) It was really only her second to last attempt at a Historical novel, the following year, 1938, that I think she finally cracked the code. Royal escape sticks closely to the detail, and doesn't try to interweave too many fictional elements into it. In Spanish Bride, her last historical, a story of Harry and Juana Smith on the Peninsular, again I feel she suffers from historical detail overwhelming the story.
Finally, I have always assumed that the character of Charles Audley is based on John Kincaid whose two memoirs - Adventures in the Rifle Brigade and Random Shots, Heyer used as sources for this book. Their natures, good-humour and general character are so similar. It is interesting that in An Infamous Army she has the two characters meeting up.
If you do enjoy this book, then John Kincaid's two books have been republished and are available through Amazon - they are well worth reading and I think he is the best author to start reading - he is such good fun
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It doesn't deserve five stars...., February 4, 2000
but oh my gosh, it demands twice as many again! An Infamous Army is an incredible book. On one level, it is considered by Waterloo historians to be one of the most important texts ever written about the Battle of Waterloo and its aftermath; and actually used to be - I don't know if it still is - a compulsory read for all Army cadets and students of military history. And on another level, it features a passionate, outrageous romance between the lovely, scandalous Lady Barbara Childe - the ultimate of all Heyer's Bad Women - and Charles Audley, the handsome and dashing soldier. She is the descendant of the hero and heroine of Heyer's great 18th century melodrama, "These Old Shades". He is related to the Earl of Worth in "Regency Buck". Their blazing and passionate courtship sets this book almost on fire. Babs, brazen as her red hair, is definitely the most shocking of all Heyer's heroines. The book is full of character development set against a practically flawless reconstruction of the events surrounding 1815. Heyer handles tragedy, humour (ranging from the decorous to the deliciously vulgar), high emotion, dislike and distrust, arguments, and pathos, and a dozen other elements without the smallest suggestion of sentimentality. The only problem is that, if you are not a military buff, you may find the description of Waterloo hard to follow. But I just allow this wonderful book to flow past me, and have re-read it many times. Many critics consider this Heyer's greatest achievement, and I must agree. It blends her two main features - her humour and her historical accuracy - so that both stand on their own, yet complement one another. Along with Cotillion, a witty subversion of Heyer's own traditional Regency plots (I've also reviewed this book on Amazon); and The Grand Sophy, which was voted one of the top 400 Novels of the Millennimum recently; An Infamous Army shows Georgette Heyer at her best. If only all set books could be this enjoyable!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Again Heyer proves herself an underrated author, January 13, 2006
I cannot believe that when I read reader reviews of Miss Heyer's work that I see numerous comparisons to Barbara Cartland! What an insult to one of the great writers of the 20th century. Cartland produced nothing but badly written attempts to rip off Georgette Heyer's work. I hope that during her lifetime Miss Heyer's sense of humor allowed her to bear it.
"An Infamous Army",an account of Waterloo from the perspective of numerous old & beloved characters,along with some new ones, is,as always,true literature and highly recommended to anyone who appreciates fine historical writing. The accompanying love story is both tragic and joyous. You will not be disappointed in this book.
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