Only wish to note a few things. Most of the time I seem to see this book listed among Heyer's romances, specifically her Regency Romances. After reading the book, I'm slightly confused by that. Since the book is based on real people, with lots and lots of research on them and on the war against Napoleon in Portugal, Spain, France, and Waterloo. And it isn't like the other Heyer romances, well most. There's a marriage, and it happens almost immediately (a few other books start off that way, but those aren't love matches but marriages of convenience, while this one is a love match). The book focuses on both the man and woman, but mostly on the battles.The second thing I wanted to note was the constant use of foreign language in the quotes. In and of itself, it isn't that annoying. It's the concept, or situation. Roughly 75% of the book, Harry and Juana speak to each other in Spanish, and sometimes in French. Never, until later, and for one or two words here or there, in English. Harry thought that there was no importance, at all, for Juana to learn English. So he didn't set about to teach her. He knew Spanish fluently. She was native Spanish. And they both knew French. So, he felt it wasn't important for her to learn English. So . . . the annoying quote thing? Harry and Juana are speaking Spanish to each other, and/or French. Luckily, for me at least, most of what they say is translated into English. And that's the annoying thing. They are not speaking mixed Spanish English. They are speaking fluent Spanish to each other. So why the bloody hell is the reader presented with mixed Spanish-English chats? As I say in one of my status updates: Yeah, it's really bloody important to hide "my heart my soul" behind "alma mia di mi corazon". Instead of, you know, having it be 'Not a bit. Kiss me, my heart my soul' the book has it as 'Not a bit. Kiss me, alma mia di mi corazón.' I suppose I should just be grateful that it isn't all in Spanish, eh? 'No es un poco. Bésame, mi corazón mi alma. ' Since, you know, they are speaking Spanish to each other. Not mixed languages. Much later Juana does pick up English from tutors. And again there are conversations with mixed languages tossed around, quoted. That part is a lot less annoying, because I imagine that Juana did speak mixed Spanish-English in those moments. Makes perfect sense there. No sense at all earlier in the book to have it be mixed.Oh, and just to complete the picture, translations are not provided. At least I don't recall any. I had to look up 'alma mia di mi corazón'. I was not in position to look up any of the other bits of non-English text. My last Heyer romance not yet completed or dnf'd. And it turns out to be a historical fiction, not a historical fiction romance. The dnf'd comment - Heyer is probably the author with the most books I've rated 5 stars, and, separately, the author with the most books I did not finish (dnf). I have 46 of Heyer's books on my shelves. 11 rated 5 stars. 3 started but did not finish. That would be 3 of the 24 books on my DNF shelf are by Heyer.I've now read or dnf'd all of Heyer's mysteries, and historical romances. The contemporary romances she wrote got almost immediately suppressed by her, so I don't think I'll find them. I only have her Historicals left that are findable. None of them looked that interesting to me but maybe I'll read them.
This is not my favorite Heyer (that would be Devil's Cub, The Grand Sophy, or Sylvester), but it is definitely my favorite war book. Even Heyer's An Infamous Army, which could be considered a sequel to this one with its focus on Waterloo and is so accurate that the cadets at Sandhurst reportedly read it as a battle study, cannot hold a candle to this one in terms of making the business of war accessible to non-soldiers. Based on the first part of Sir Harry Smith's diaries and every other memoir of the Peninsular War that came into Heyer's hands, it follows the British Army from Badajos to Toulouse and on to Waterloo through the story of Harry Smith and his child bride, Juana Ponce de Leon. They met, fell in love, and married when she was barely 14 and he was 25 and remained together and passionately attached all their lives. Yet this is not one of Heyer's famed Regency romances. The focus is on the battles—the planning, the campaigns, the mistakes and successes, the camaraderie of men facing death together, the courage and resourcefulness of the women who accompanied the troops in an age when ladies were supposed to stay at home and embroider pretty handkerchiefs for their fighting husbands. In Heyer's skilled hands, it's a trip worth taking, even—or perhaps especially—if you are a reader who would normally never pick up a book about war.
What do You think about The Spanish Bride (2005)?
I was a perfect fiend for Georgette Heyer as a young girl, possibly because her Regency bucks and Ladies of Quality spar like Katharine Hepburn and Soencer Tracy (and indeed Heyer was writing from the '20s to the '50s). I still find Heyer to be miles above all the bodice rippers who've tried to imitate her style. So I turned to this one as a comfort read while I was sick. It's based on a true story of Juana Smith, a highborn fourteen-year-old Spanish girl who married an English officer the first day she met him and traveled with him on campaign throughout the Napoleonic war. I understand Heyer researched it scrupulously and all the info about the battles is perfectly accurate. I still skipped most of that this time. But the biggest treat was finding Harry Smith's memoirs available online. I could see that Heyer even used every line of dialogue she could from Smith's memoirs, which must be why it feels so alive.
—Ariel
Not the usual fluff... it's actually more of a biography of Harry and Juana (real people, real events).... not sure I'm in the mood for so much "real" right now.It actually starts with Badajoz... interesting.hmm... amid all those excessive horrors of war being perpetrated all around them, I, as a reader, am expected to sympathize with the plight of the poor dear girl our h, whose claim to our attention is a protective elder sister, high ranking family and doe like beauty. I have always wondered why Wellington is given such encomium's. It would have been treasonous (not to mention morale crushing) for any of his juniors to say bad of him. But for all that, he was good general and a good tactician (though in any victory, the credit would go to his subordinates, and not just him). I just don't find that much in his character or personal life to have any good opinion of those. H flirts with pretty young women, h comes and slaps him, H says he'll flirt with whoever he wants, h says she'll leave him, H says he would be glad to be rid of her. rinse repeat. What a lovely couple.I find it wonderful the way Wellington, Prince Regent are so respected by the authors, while at the same time admitting their little foibles. Nowhere in evidence is such respect when they denounce heads of state and leaders from other nationalities. wonderfulBtw, not a single mention of religion? It's more likely that the H's family were not papists, while the h most likely is.
—Nenya
I never know what to expect from a Heyer novel because she was such a prolific writer. This one was frankly disappointing. It's pretty much a four-hundred-page history text about the Peninsular War (1808-1814), and Wellington's many victories against the French. The protagonists--Brigade-Major Harry Smith and his fourteen-year-old bride, Juana--are engaging, but (largely because this is based in fact, not fiction) they never develop or do much of anything except fall in love and survive a long string of battles. From a historical standpoint this novel is fascinating, but from a fictional standpoint I found it highly boring.
—Hannah Cobb
