The 106th is a new regiment and has its share of gentleman soldiers, volunteers striving for commissions from the ranks. Wellington is a very successful general, but only in India; so is considered as "only a Sepoy general". Off to Portugal rather than Spain for them and thus the Peninsular Wars begin. A good start to this series. ( )

A principios del verano de 1808, los hombres del regimiento inglés 106 de Infantería están deseando entrar en acción contra los siempre victoriosos ejércitos de Napoleón. Y la oportunidad les llega antes de lo esperado, cuando estalla la guerra en España tras la estremecedora masacre de civiles realizada por soldados franceses en Madrid.
Mientras los inexpertos reclutas hacen instrucción en la campiña inglesa, cada uno de los oficiales tiene sus motivos para desear entrar en combate. Hamish Williams, un voluntario que carece de los medios para conseguir un puesto, quiere demostrar su valía en el combate como única forma de ascender. El simpático Billy Pringle cree que los rigores de una campaña pueden hacer que se mantenga alejado de la bebida y de su vida de mujeriego que amenazan con ser su perdición. Hanley, un artista fracasado, ve la oportunidad de descubrir los límites de la repulsión que siente por la vida de soldado. Mientras que para el teniente Wickham, el campo de batalla es el lugar perfecto para un juicioso ascenso en la escala social.
Pero cuando zarpan hacia la Península a las órdenes de Sir Arthur Wellesley ―un ambicioso general desesperado por demostrar que Napoleón no es imbatible―, de lo único que pueden estar seguros es de que han dejado atrás los formalismos civilizados de la Inglaterra de la Regencia y se han sumergido de lleno en una guerra salvaje y cruel contra un enemigo aparentemente invencible.

Adrian Goldsworthy starts us in his tale of the exploits of a fictional English Regiment ahead of the action that was to take place in the Peninsula Campaign by several months with the conquest of Madrid by the French. Such a terrible time can only be conveyed into words with tales of atrocities, which might not recommend such a work to the many woman who read of the Regency Era and the romances that are created for it.

Goldsworthy further mixes in, with a hint here, and a glimpse over there, that the familiar George Wickham, the well remembered Rake we have met through Jane Austen's creative work, Pride and Prejudice, has a part to play here as well. Later, rather than earlier, we find that Goldsworthy's Wickham, along with his wife Lydia, and a personal favorite, Colonel Fitzwilliam, all have parts in the drama. But they are not central to our story.

Goldsworthy's regiment, the 106th Glamorganshire Regiment is central and several characters within. There are moments where POV shifts rather rapidly and so that detracts from a solid read of the material, as is always the case when a writer attempts to be so omniscient. And as this is a piece of Military Historical Fiction, one might ask where is the romance. We best nor forget we have re-met Lydia, and though she is not central to our romance sub-plots, that Goldsworthy has given us this lady, shows his affection for Austen. And he has painted a picture of other romances as backstory, as well as the quest of one of our fine young heroes of the piece.

One should not look to True Soldier Gentlemen for the romance, for that is secondary. Where this book shines is as a Military History, it is well researched to give one the sense of what regimental life was like at this time, and though Goldsworthy makes his heroes the first to stop dyeing their hair, and the first to form a regimental mess, ahead of the other regiments serving under Sir Arthur Wellesley, once battle is joined he follows the scripts of what happened in these early days in Portugal. His use of language is vivid and evocative and this is what makes the book shine amongst others that have also told us of these battles. If you ever would look to find out more detail of what occurred on the continent for the heroic troops of England, this may be the very place to start. ( )