#14: Spring-summer 1815; covers the Battle of Waterloo

As Napoleon’s reign comes to its inevitable end and the allied troops converge for a last, decisive battle, the beau monde of English society gather in Brussels, essentially creating their own little society there, complete with cricket matches and balls and coming out parties. Lucy and Heloise, now respectable matrons, take Rosamund and Sophie there for their coming out, as James Morland (back in England) attempts to deal with the devastating loss of his daughter, Fanny. In Brussels, Rosamund deals with her feelings for Marcus, and Sophie falls in love with a French major. It seems that the only man not in uniform is Bobbie, Earl of Chelmsford.

This is a very strong addition to the series, again, with some very strong characters and character development. The titles of the books in this series often have a double meaning; in this case, you could consider Rosamund and Sophie as kind of campaigners in the marriage market, even as Wellington and his men campaign against Napoleon. Although the outcome of the war is of course well known, I found myself invested enough in the characters to care about who survives this particular chapter of history—or not. The novel features many returning characters, but introduces a nice collection of new ones that I hope to see in future installments of the series. Plus, there’s that rivalry between Benedict and Nicholas, still children here, which threatens to blow into a full conflict later on…

The author’s descriptions of the period are excellent, describing as they do the calm before the storm, so to speak: the day to day lives of people in English society, leading up to that famous ball on the eve of the battle of Waterloo, and through the battle itself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Harrod-Eagles is especially skilled at battle scenes. Once again the Morland family has a front-row seat to what’s going on, and are indeed active participants. It’s an interesting way to learn about history, especially since I don’t know much about the 19th century pre-Victoria. Military history seems to be something that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is passionately interested in, as seen in the descriptions of the battle at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. ( )

The Campaigners, the 14th book in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’s Morland Dynasty series, finds the bulk of the Morland family in Brussels at the Battle of Waterloo. Several of the Morland men have joined the fight against Napoleon, and Lucy has determined that with all the young men having gone to war, the only way for her daughter Rosamund to have a proper coming out ball is for her to be where the men are. Lucy invites Héloïse to bring her daughter Sophie to Brussels as well so the two girls can be launched into society together.

The campaign of the title could refer to any one of three threads: the campaign against Napoleon, obviously; the campaign to find a suitable husband; and the campaign to expand the Morland estate to include the mills owned by James Morland’s father-in-law. The first half of the book focuses on the husband hunt, with Rosamund and Sophie meeting many eligible men and trying to weigh monetary concerns with the desires of their hearts and hoping that their mothers will consent to their desired matches. This storyline alternates with the minor thread involving the expansion of the Morland estate, a question which comes down to the precise time Mr. Hobspawn, James’s father-in-law, died. The second half of the book is devoted almost entirely to the Battle of Waterloo.

Battle scenes are challenging for me to read, both because the subject matter is upsetting and because I find troop movements difficult to follow. In this book, however, the battle scenes were absolutely gripping. This is partly because I’ve grown to care about the particular people involved, but I think much of it is due to Harrod-Eagles’s skill as a storyteller. She carefully places characters at different spots in the battle so her readers can get a global view of the battle, but within each scene, she focuses closely on the individual character’s experience. I haven’t read much of anything about Waterloo, so I don’t know how accurate Harrod-Eagles’s account is as far as strategies and troop movements goes, but the ugliness and terror feel real.

This is my favorite Morland book so far, by a long shot. I’m not sure how well it would stand on its own, though. I think that the Brussels and Waterloo sections would be understandable and interesting enough to a first-time Morland reader. The sections at Morland Place, however, might only be of interest to those who are already following the story. But those sections are relatively brief and disappear almost entirely in the last half of the book. And the last half of this book is the Morland Dynasty at its best.

See my complete review at my blog ( )

Found this one a bit boring until the last 150 pages- then wow! Action packed and so incredibly sad. ( )