[.ca] A Close Run Thing: A Novel of Wellington's Army of 1815 (ISBN 0553380435)

From Amazon.com:
Allan Mallinson wastes no time getting the reader into the thick of things: by page 2 of this novel, set during the Napoleonic wars, protagonist Coronet Matthew Hervey of the 6th Light Dragoons is up to his neck in battle and blood. By page 8, he's on his way to a court martial, the result of his own hasty temper and the politics of the military. Though the young soldier's career is never in serious danger, Mallinson uses the episode effectively to make a point about 19th-century military life: Anyone who thought that survival in this war depended merely on fighting the enemy was naïve in the extreme. Jealousy, snobbery, intrigue, and patronage were the preoccupations of men of ambition in the Marquess of Wellington's army; and Hervey and others like him, decent officers with little but the ability to recommend them, were increasingly resentful of Wellington's indifference to it all. Indeed, many believed he actively connived at it. Politics and infighting within the ranks are, indeed, important elements in A Close Run Thing, which follows the fortunes of young Matthew Hervey, his regiment, and Wellington's army through the last year of the Napoleonic wars. What makes the novel so fascinating is that the most dangerous enemies are seldom the ones being fought on the battlefield. There are the villains--General "Black Jack" Slade, for example, "as incompetent an officer as was ever placed in command of a brigade of cavalry"; and to a lesser degree, Wellington himself, who seems indifferent to the system of patronage that kept people like Slade in positions of power. And there are the heroes--Hervey and his commanding officer, Major Joseph Edmonds, among others. As war's fortunes take them from France to Ireland and back again to the continent and an insignificant Belgian village called Waterloo, Mallinson paints a vivid portrait not only of military life but of the European political milieu. In his note at the beginning of A Close Run Thing, Mallinson writes that he's long been a fan of Patrick O'Brian 's naval fictions set during the Napoleonic wars and that he "began to fret for anything remotely comparable for the cavalry of that period." Though one might wish Matthew Hervey had been more fully developed as a character, à la O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, Mallinson writes a battlefield scene with the same brio and encyclopedic knowledge that O'Brian brings to his engagements at sea. From the details of charging a French battery of guns to the peculiar ailments of a cavalry horse, Mallinson, himself a serving officer in a British cavalry regiment, knows his subject inside and out. This is a book sure to appeal to military-history buffs and readers looking for a ripping good adventure tale alike. --Alix Wilber

Read the first 40 and the last 80 pages:
I just finished this book by Alan Mallison. I was not impressed. Maybe I am spoiled by Sharpe and other fiction describing soldiers and their battles but IMO, this was very dry and a hard read. Hear me out. The book follows a young Cornet of the 6th British Light Dragoons and picks up as he is facing a military trial at the end of hostilities in 1814. It then goes back to recall the events that occurred and his subsequent release from charges. This takes all of about 40 pages of the 320 page book. We then follow him to his peacetime posting and his involvement in the Irish countryside. All the while woven in the story line is a series of encounters with ladies, who he just basically talks with until he finally gets told by his sister and sergeant that one likes him. He gets engaged and then Napoleon makes his escape from Elba. This center section of the story took up about 200+ pages and was absolutely boring. I read alot and I like to have a book to read in bed for 30-60 minutes every night. I put this down several times and read some O'Brien and others as this center section was just plain horrible to get through. While there were some interesting scenes in this section they were too few and far between to save this part of the book. Then came our main character getting into it at Waterloo and becoming a hero. Great stuff and well written. I think the author has the ability to write good stuff but just has to figure out what is interesting and exciting. I actually wanted more at this point. So if you dispose of the middle section of the book you have something worth reading. JM2C

Hurrah for the Light Dragoons!:
Mr. Mallinson dedicates his book, appropriately to the Light Dragoons, formally the 13th/18th and 15th/19th Hussars. These fine old regiments, like so many in the British Army today, are no more, and live on in truncated form. Mallinson pays tribute to them in his book. Cornet Hervey is a different kind of hero. Those use to the head-bashing logic of Sharpe and co. may find this book a bit of a challenge. I must confess I did at first, but what we have here is a different perspective of the time, and perhaps a somewhat more realistic one. Mallinson's character is educated, and accomplishes more with brains than brawn, though he does not lack in his saber skills, and has a rash temper to boot! Still, we are not dealing with another Sharpe here, and Mallinson attempts to provide a portrait of the time as well. The middle section where the regiment is stationed in Ireland was particularly well done, as it shows how difficult the transition must be for soldiers to become policemen. Also readers can see how difficult the Irish posting was for British soldiers then, as it is now. Hervey is not a rake like Sharpe, and he must agonize before declaring his love for the woman he desires. The depiction of Waterloo was interesting as well, since Mallinson places Hervey on the left flank of the battlefield, the part of the battle often least discussed, because it lacked the glamor of Hugamont and Le Haie Sainte positions. But this flank was extremely important to Wellington, as the arrival of the Prussians were crucial to the success of the battle. Hervery expereinces the trials and tribulations of awaiting the slow moving Prussians, and must attemept to effectively liason with them as they arrive. Perhaps the characters are a little less vibrant, and the writing a bit slow at times, but this series has promise. Hervey will need to explore his career in the 19th Century British Empire, and will therefore provide the reader with an interesting transition from the conventional warfare of the Napoleanic period, to the smaller affais of the Empire. Perhaps we might get the Sikh Wars in a future installment as well!

Hurrah for the Light Dragoons!:
Mr. Mallinson dedicates his book, appropriately to the Light Dragoons, formally the 13th/18th and 15th/19th Hussars. These fine old regiments, like so many in the British Army today, are no more, and live on in truncated form. Mallinson pays tribute to them in his book. Cornet Hervey is a different kind of hero. Those use to the head-bashing logic of Sharpe and co. may find this book a bit of a challenge. I must confess I did at first, but what we have here is a different perspective of the time, and perhaps a somewhat more realistic one. Mallinson's character is educated, and accomplishes more with brains than brawn, though he does not lack in his saber skills, and has a rash temper to boot! Still, we are not dealing with another Sharpe here, and Mallinson attempts to provide a portrait of the time as well. The middle section where the regiment is stationed in Ireland was particularly well done, as it shows how difficult the transition must be for soldiers to become policemen. Also readers can see how difficult the Irish posting was for British soldiers then, as it is now. Hervey is not a rake like Sharpe, and he must agonize before declaring his love for the woman he desires. The depiction of Waterloo was interesting as well, since Mallinson places Hervey on the left flank of the battlefield, the part of the battle often least discussed, because it lacked the glamor of Hugamont and Le Haie Sainte positions. But this flank was extremely important to Wellington, as the arrival of the Prussians were crucial to the success of the battle. Hervery expereinces the trials and tribulations of awaiting the slow moving Prussians, and must attemept to effectively liason with them as they arrive. Perhaps the characters are a little less vibrant, and the writing a bit slow at times, but this series has promise. Hervey will need to explore his career in the 19th Century British Empire, and will therefore provide the reader with an interesting transition from the conventional warfare of the Napoleanic period, to the smaller affais of the Empire. Perhaps we might get the Sikh Wars in a future installment as well!

Good.. and bad and good and bad...:
Good: Fascinating subject. There's not nearly enough written about cavalry. Research that seems impeccable to me, a nonspecialist in the period. Essentially appealing characters and a plot where plenty happens. Bad: Mallison seems to eschew sensory description almost completely. We never learn what most of the characters look like. We never smell the black powder and the horse poop, see the colors of the banners, hear the roar of cannons -- and so on. Also, the pacing of the plot is strange -- several scenes which really should be "shown", such as Hervey's first reunion with his family after several years, are "told". Overall, I enjoyed this, and I suspect that the rough spots in Mallinson's writing may improve in later works.

First rate historical fiction with a welcome twist:
Nearly everyone agrees that Mr. Mallinson's extensive research and intimate personal knowledge of the life of a cavalry officer make this an engaging read. However, one aspect of this novel that has not been discussed much is the role of the Christian faith of the main character, Matthew Hervey and several supporting characters (from fellow soldiers to his pastor father and brother). Like many in England in the early 19th century, Hervey is a devout Christian. Hervey is written as one who views the world from a Protestant Christian perspective, and who strives to be faithful on the battlefield, at home, or wherever he may be. He is shown praying on the battlefield, quoting scripture, and meditating on Christian ethics and morality. The portrayal is honest and not in the least polemical. Christianity and Christians are not caricatured, but portrayed faithfully and engagingly. Thank you Mr. Mallinson for this welcome twist.