This story is set in Spain during Wellington's Peninsular Campaign where German units are holding the town of La Bisbal against Spanish guerrillas. The Marquis of Bolibar promises to deliver the town as well as settle his own score, and he sets in train an ingenious series of traps for the enemy.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This 1960 novel by the late Czech emigre writer purports to be the memoirs of Eduard von Jochberg, the sole survivor of a bloody massacre in 1812, during the Peninsular War. Von Jochberg is garrisoned with a German unit of Napoleon's army in a small Spanish town when it is discovered that a local nobleman, the Marquis of Bolibar, is aiding the Spanish insurgents. Bolibar, who has disguised himself and disappeared, plans to send three signals to the Spanish rebels which will lead to an uprising of the supposedly docile townsfolk. Later, von Jochberg and three friends are overheard by Perico, a ragged Spanish muleteer, drunkenly boasting of their sexual conquest of their colonel's late wife. Von Jochberg orders the Spaniard executed so he will not reveal their indiscretions, but before dying, Perico (whom von Jochberg comes to believe is the Marquis of Bolibar in disguise) makes the four young hotheads promise to honor his last wishes, which "God" will reveal to them. The four officers, intentionally or not, bring about the destruction of their garrison by sending all three of the Marquis's prearranged signals to the insurgents. As in Leonardo's Judas , Perutz is fascinated by the psychological motivation of evil. While the somewhat mannered style of this novel may at first seem deliberately obscure, readers will enjoy Perutz's elegant prose, dry wit and heightened sense of the fantastic.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a very worthy read of a time gone by with a universal appeal,
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This review is from: The Marquis of Bolibar (Hardcover)
This is a book I bought for my father at a book clearance sale. It sat around for years, he didn't read it, neither did I, until I made myself sit down, pick it up and give it a go. I am very pleased I did! The dated dust cover put me off an excellent read. It is a historical novel set in the Napoleonic war period. A German regiment fighting under Napoleon is stationed in a Spanish town which guerilla fighters are trying to recapture. The mysterious Marquis de Bolibar attempts to help the guerillas do so as he has just learnt another Bolibar has died fighting for the enemy of Spain and his class, Napoleon. Using cunning tricks exploiting human frailties, the Marquis sets off an explosive train of events that assume legendary qualities, providing the Germans with a number of problems, the reader a few laughs and the authour with our undivided attention. Whether a history or military history buff (which I am not) or just looking for something different to read - this may provide a good deal of enjoyment. Although I was initially put off by a couple of arcane words, this should not be a deterrent, the story is very intriguing and attention-grabbing and these words soon become familiar.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
an entertainment of a high sort,
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This review is from: The Marquis of Bolibar (Hardcover)
The mysterious Marquis that haunts the margins of this historical war drama is a wonderful creation whose real identity remains a mystery to the very end. The book has a fantastic element to it but it is not so far out there to be considered genre fiction. Leo Perutz was admired by Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges among others and writes very literate but also very entertaining books and belongs in that category of writers. You can enjoy the identity mystery(national and personal) and the historical dimension of this as well. It is a fascinating series of events that take place in an equally fascinating time and place(all of Perutz's books do)and it will enlighten you and entertain you with a not too often written about side of the Napoleanic Wars. Mainly the complex ethnic and nationalist and familial loyalties that sometimes created very complex situations. The troops that occupy and garrison themselves in to the strange town where these events occur are in for a series of surprises and so is the reader who will be delighted to have found such a unique kind of book.
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