Waterloo

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, where Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and ended the Little Tyrant's efforts to conquer Europe. We might all be speaking French (or German, as the French can't seem to beat the Germans!) if not for Wellington and his army.

Lots of links here.

Items of Interest

As an Anglophile who particularly likes to study the Regency, I find this absolutely fascinating.

And what's going on at this opera?

This is the last time Easter will be this early until 2160. The last time it was earlier was 22 March 1818. During the Regency!

March Madness has begun!

Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else!

No more History Channel. (Really, could they possibly show some interesting shows about the Regency???)

Book Review: No Regrets

Michele Ann Young's Regency novel No Regrets begins in a very interesting (and romantic) manner: Lucas Rivers, Viscount Foxhaven, rides his horse into the house where our heroine, Caroline "Caro" Torrington is secretly working and carries her off. The couple were childhood friends and Lucas cannot receive inheritance until he marries Caro, but she has stubbornly refused him. Caro, who could be called voluptuous, is very attracted to Lucas, who is rather a Rake, but doesn't believe he could ever find her beautiful. Finally, in order to provide give her sisters a stable financial future, Caro agrees to a marriage of convenience, which will be ended sometime in the future. They agree to "no regrets."

Along the way, Caro receives society-lessons from Lucas' friend's sister, meets a previously unknown French cousin, spends time with Lucas' Aunt Rivers and Cousin Cedric (who looks after a lot of Lucas' business), and tries to win Lucas' affections (though she has actually already done so).

Lucas, in reality, is very attracted to Caro, but does not want to violate their agreement or somehow ruin their longtime friendship. Unfortunately, Caro thinks she disgusts him. This leads to a variety of misunderstandings, including Caro believing Lucas has a mistress. Though the couple grows closer, Caro believes she is doing Lucas a favor by leaving him and traveling to France with her cousin to visit French relatives. Lucas follows her there, but when Caro is kidnapped (or has she voluntarily decided to remarry?), he must decide how he really feels about her. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, so I will stop there.

I really enjoyed reading No Regrets. It is a well-written and interesting Regency. Young did an excellent job incorporating the proper period elements and crafting a tension-filled love story. Lucas is a very attractive hero, with his dark hair and "chocolate" eyes (yum!). Caro is a woman we can all relate to because she really struggles with her self-esteem and believes herself to be completely unattractive, especially to Lucas. The secondary characters add a lot to the tale, especially Caro's lady's maid Lizzie. She's hilarious.

Fortunately, this book is on the long side (for a Regency), which means the reader gets to enjoy it a little bit longer. Lucas and Caro's difficulties in communicating their true feelings are frustrating---to the characters and to the reader---but that works in this story because the reader understands what they are going through. Obviously Lucas and Caroline have long-held and deep feelings for each other. As we all know, though, sometimes it is hard to express such important emotions to the most important people in our lives.

I highly recommend No Regrets by Michele Ann Young. I had never read any of her work before, but I have visited her blog, Regency Ramble, numerous times before I received No Regrets. I do hope you will find No Regrets at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com.

Book Information: No Regrets by Michele Ann Young (Sourcebooks Casablanca; ISBN: 1-4022-1016-7; $6.99; 384 pages; paperback)

How Well Do You Know the Regency?

Over at Jane Austen's World, Ms. Place has posted a link to a quiz on the Regency.

As I adore studying the Regency, I had to take the quiz. I am pleased to say I got a 10 of 10!

You will find the quiz here.

Don't forget to visit Jane Austen's World. Ms. Place always has fascinating information about Jane's family and the Regency in general.

The Battle of Waterloo

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815, Waterloo, Belgium, where the English Duke of Wellington, principally, defeated, for the last time, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Huzzah for General Wellington!


You can read all about the bloody Battle of Waterloo, including combatants, generals, British regiments present, and troop movements, here.


Today, Waterloo reenactment draws thousands.

And more:
The Allied Order of Battle
The French Order
The Casualties (British only)
Uniforms, Arms, Equipment, Training

Waterloo-The Battle
Eyewitness to History: Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon's Sword Sells for $6.4 Million

AP: Napoleon's sword sold for $6.4 million---

FONTAINEBLEAU, France - A gold-encrusted sword Napoleon wore into battle in Italy 200 years ago was sold Sunday for more than $6.4 million, an auction house said.

The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it has an estimated value of far less — about $1.6 million, according to the Osenat auction house managing the sale.

Applause rang out in a packed auction hall across the street from one of Napoleon's imperial castles in Fontainebleau, a town southeast of Paris, when the sword was sold.

Osenat did not identify the buyer, but said the sword will remain in Napoleon's family, which had put it up for sale. The auction house did not immediately elaborate on the details.

My previous post on this topic here.

And in other news, Napoleon runs for parliament seat. Seriously. Right now.

Napoleon's Battle Sword For Sale

My favorite period of history to study is the English Regency. Of course, during the same time period Napoleon Bonaparte was taking over the Continent, so most people know the period as the Napoleonic Era.

Any article, book, story about this time period captures my attention quite easily. I was interested to see this article today:

AP: Napoleon's battle sword up for auction---

FONTAINEBLEAU, France - After more than 200 years in the family, the gold-encrusted sword Napoleon carried into battle in Italy will be auctioned off Sunday, across the street from one of his imperial castles.

The intricately decorated blade is 32 inches long and curves gently — an inspiration Napoleon drew from his Egyptian campaign, auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat said.

"He noticed that the Arab swords, which were curved, were very effective in cutting off French heads" and ordered an imitation made upon his return, Osenat explained.

What fascinating information!

Napoleon's Battle Sword
More about the sword:

The sword was worn by Napoleon — who was not yet emperor at the time — into the battle of Marengo in June 1800, where he launched a surprise attack to push the Austrian army from Italy and seal France's victory, Chataignier said.

After the battle, Napoleon gave the sword to his brother as a wedding present, and it was passed down through the generations, never leaving the family, according to the auction house.

Today the sword is owned by eight direct descendants of Napoleon, including Prince Victor Napoleon, Chataignier said. The auction house will hold the auction in view of Fontainebleau castle south of Paris, constructed by Napoleon as a quiet retreat.

Strong enough for battle, the sword is uncommonly ornate, with geometric designs in gold covering the hilt and most of the blade.

You can follow the timeline of the Egypt Campaign here. The French landed at Alexandria, Egypt on 1 July 1798 and took the city on 2 July 1798. A French soldier discovered the famous Rosetta Stone only 17 days later, on 19 July 1798.

Of course, Napoleon eventually lost (again) to Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo, Belgium, on 18 June 1815.

I would love to own this sword (or at least see it!).