Revolutionnaire et romantique
Jul. 21st, 2018 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: Servitude and Grandeur of Arms, by Alfred de Vigny
My interest was drawn to this by the references to Admiral Collingwood, and it's been on the shelves for a couple of years. Unsure of what to expect, it's a short but dense book. I was a little disappointed to discover the narratives are all second-hand; de Vigny relays three episodes from other soldiers rather than memoirs of his own, beyond some incidental background. Throughout, he conveys a sense of military duty and honour, but also sometimes of futility. The highlight probably ought to be the overheard conversation between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, but in fact, for me the best part of the story was the father and son both captured, at different times, by Collingwood's ships. It's difficult to tell to what extent de Vigny's description of the episodes with one of Bonaparte's nemeses is objective, and to what extent it's permeated by his Royalist sympathies.
My interest was drawn to this by the references to Admiral Collingwood, and it's been on the shelves for a couple of years. Unsure of what to expect, it's a short but dense book. I was a little disappointed to discover the narratives are all second-hand; de Vigny relays three episodes from other soldiers rather than memoirs of his own, beyond some incidental background. Throughout, he conveys a sense of military duty and honour, but also sometimes of futility. The highlight probably ought to be the overheard conversation between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, but in fact, for me the best part of the story was the father and son both captured, at different times, by Collingwood's ships. It's difficult to tell to what extent de Vigny's description of the episodes with one of Bonaparte's nemeses is objective, and to what extent it's permeated by his Royalist sympathies.