Seven Men of Gascony: Amazon.ca: R.F. Delderfield: Books

Product Description

(The Literary Guild)

"The most remarkable storyteller of our time." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

Comrades and heroes, the seven warriors slog through the swirl and tumult of the Napoleonic Wars, fighting for their across Europe, until they confront their destiny at Waterloo. Drawn from true stories left behind by the soldiers of the First Empire, this stirring saga is a dramatic tale of triumph and defeat. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative, Jul 14 2003

By	Patricia Bauer (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Seven Men of Gascony (Paperback)

I have been a Delderfield fan (female) for 30 years but had not yet read any of his Napoleonic tales. Having recently enjoyed the Hornblower books, and Sharpe and Hornblower video series, I decided to give my library-sale copy a try. I read it on vacation this past week and truly enjoyed it. The story of the seven comrades drew me into the story of the war from a French perspective (moderated, of course, by Delderfield's inherent Britishness). While steering away from melodrama, I would not consider the book at all "plodding," as another reviwer put it. The scenes featuring Napoleon brought on the tingles created by the best of fiction or drama. Recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for one compendium novel of the period., Jul 3 2003

By	Alejo "ADB" (Andorra) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Men of Gascony (Paperback)

I bought/read this book some years ago, and kept it when moving house, so that means one day I will probably reread it...
I remember distinctly the moving history and the well documented background, right it isn't Sharpe, but if Cornwell had made the mistake (a la John Jake's wich at least gives you trilogys...) of passing the whole of the Peninsular War in a single book (thanks God he did'nt, but the whole India episodes could have been from my point of view resumed in a single one!) it woudn't have been so diferent.
I agree it's probably not the best of best but definitly not worth a single star ...
If a Napoleonic buff you probably will enjoy.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping Saga of the Grande Armee, Nov 27 2002

By	Roger Kennedy - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Seven Men of Gascony (Paperback)

Despite what others have said about this book I have always found it worthwhile. I recently re-read it after many years and still found it to be a sweeping saga of the Napoleanic wars. Perhaps readers are too taken with the more sleek, action packed yarns of today to allow themselves to get into Delderfield's world of the Napoleanic wars. Yes the book starts off a bit slow, and yes its not as action packed as some other historical fiction on the same period. But Delderfield's strength lies in his story-telling, and this book gradually enfolds you into the epic of what was the campaigns of Napolean. After a while you find yourself swept up into the episodic writing of this story which takes its seven Voltiguers on a tour-de-force of Napoelean's battles. The author has a deep love for the period which is reflected in his style of writing. Delderfield is a writer of the old school. His story and characters slowly grow on you if you allow time for it to do so. While I agree with one reader that it would have been nice if some description of the kind of skirmish tactics the French Voltigeurs employed on the battlefield were provided, I didn't find that it detracts from the story that much. This book was written many years ago before the plethora of military historical fiction was available. I'am sure this book served as inspiration for many of the Sharpe novels et al that we see today. C.H. Forester and R.F Delderfield were the fathers of Napoleanic military historical fiction. These works stand up well over time, and since there are few books in English on the French perspective out there this makes "Seven Men" even more important. Give this book time and allow it to enfold you into its sweeping, epic events that were the horror and grandeur of the
wars of Napolean.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars There are many other better choices
This book started out very slow and was a continual disappointment throughout. The character development is shallow and devoid of insight into the Napoleonic campaigns it... Read more

Published on Sep 21 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars "Survivor" for the nineteenth century
This book isn't easy to get into. Delderfield's use of language is somewhat plodding, and there's something indefinably off about the story's pace. Read more

Published on Nov 9 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars seven men of gasconye
An excellent story. Well written to sustain your interest to the last word.

It is also an excellent introduction to the naploenic wars, telling the highs and lows of the era... Read more

Published on May 6 2001