Tag: North Africa

Beau Sabreur by PC Wren

9 Comments

I loved PC Wren’s 1924 classic Beau Geste and when I discovered that it was the first in a trilogy I knew I would have to read the other two. It has taken me more than five years, but a few weeks ago I finally got around to picking up the second book, Beau Sabreur, which was first published in 1926. Although this is a sequel to Beau Geste and features a few of the same characters, it’s not really a direct continuation of the story so would probably work as a standalone; however, some parts of the plot will make more sense if you have already read the previous book.

Beau Sabreur is divided into two sections and really is a book of two very distinct and different halves! The first half, Failure: The Making of a Beau Sabreur, is narrated by Major Henri de Beaujolais, whom you may remember as the French army officer who discovered the eerie abandoned fort at the beginning of Beau Geste. Henri’s narrative follows his early days with his regiment, the friends and enemies he makes, each of whom will have an impact on his future career, and the challenges he faces in settling into army life.

After completing his training, Henri is sent to North Africa with the cavalry where he has a series of adventures that wouldn’t be out of place in Lawrence of Arabia: camel rides across the desert; encounters with bands of Touareg robbers; and negotiations with Emirs and Viziers. It is here in the Sahara that Henri meets the beautiful Mary Vanbrugh, a guest of the colonel of the French-occupied city of Zaguig, who is ‘doing Algeria and seeing something of the desert’ with her brother and her maid-companion, Maudie. Henri is captivated by Miss Vanbrugh, but when the city comes under attack, he must decide whether she is more important to him than his duty to France.

I really enjoyed the first section of the book. Henri de Beaujolais is an engaging narrator and although his story encompasses serious themes of love, honour and duty, it is told with a lot of humour; I found the part where he visits a tailor to be fitted with his army uniform particularly funny. Bearing in mind that this is a novel written in the 1920s and some of the views on race and gender would be considered problematic today, I was pleased to find that Mary Vanbrugh is depicted as a courageous, independent and intelligent woman with a mind of her own (although Maudie, who dreams of being carried off on horseback by a handsome Sheikh, is less so). This first half comes to an end with a surprising plot twist that I hadn’t seen coming, before the whole style and tone of the novel changes entirely as we enter Part Two – Success: The Making of a Monarch.

The second half of the novel, sadly, didn’t live up to the promise of the first half. The focus moved away from Henri to concentrate on two of the characters from Beau Geste whom I liked in that book but didn’t care for in this one. The dry wit of Henri’s narrative was replaced by a much less subtle humour and I found the story in Part Two became quite tedious after the excitement and drama of Part One. I was still interested enough to keep reading to the end and I was rewarded with several more plot twists which made me glad I had persevered, but the abrupt change in the middle of the book didn’t work for me at all. I will probably still try the third book, Beau Ideal, and will hope for something more consistent from that one!

Nonfiction November Week 2: Book Pairings – Tapestry of War and The Desert War

16 Comments

For Week 2 of Nonfiction November, the topic is as follows:

(Nov. 5 to 9, hosted by Sarah’s Bookshelves) – Fiction / Nonfiction Book Pairing – This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story.

I’ve recently read two books that fit this week’s topic perfectly…

Fiction: Tapestry of War by Jane MacKenzie

Tapestry of War follows the very different experiences of two young women during World War II. In Egypt, we meet Fran Trevillian, a journalist working for the Alexandria Journal, reporting on the issues that are important to the diverse communities that have made the city their home. As Rommel’s forces draw closer to Alexandria, Fran falls in love with Jim MacNeill, a Scottish radar specialist. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Jim’s sister Catriona has finished training to be a nurse and is hoping to use her new skills to provide therapy for injured soldiers who have been sent home from the war. On the Isle of Islay, where she lives with her father, however, nursing opportunities seem limited and Catriona longs to move away to somewhere where she feels her work can really make a difference.

Although there is occasionally some drama in the stories of our two main characters and their friends, this is a very character driven novel. Both women change and grow as people as a result of the work they carry out during the war and the new relationships they develop. I enjoyed each storyline equally, drawn more to Fran’s at the beginning because it was set closer to the action, but appreciating Catriona’s more and more as the novel progressed. I became completely invested in the lives of each woman, sharing in their happiness as each finds love when they least expect it and in their sadness as the tragedy of war strikes again and again.

Most of my previous World War II reading has concentrated on the war in Europe, so my knowledge of what was happening in North Africa is more limited. I found that I was learning a lot from Tapestry of War, but I knew I needed to read some non-fiction to fill in the gaps…

Nonfiction: The Desert War by James Holland

This little book is part of the Ladybird Expert series, aimed at adult readers but published in the same format that those of us who loved Ladybird books as children will remember. Written in a clear and concise style, the left hand pages contain the text while on the right there’s a map, a photograph or an illustration.

Beginning in 1940, when the Italians, under Mussolini, entered the Second World War, James Holland takes us in chronological order through each stage of the war in North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It’s all very factual and straight to the point, with none of the author’s own personality coming through, but in a book with only 50 pages (half of them pictures) and a lot of information to cover, that’s understandable. Battles and raids are described briefly, concentrating on the outcome and any notable tactics or weapons that were used.

The Desert War is a perfect introduction to the subject and can easily be read in less than an hour. If, when you’ve finished it, you want to explore things in more detail, some recommendations for further reading are given, although there are no references or sources provided. I didn’t mind this as all I wanted from this book was a chance to learn some basic facts and to get the timeline of events straight in my mind – it’s obviously not intended to be a comprehensive, in-depth read. Looking at the other titles in the Ladybird Experts series, I see there are several more by James Holland covering different aspects of the war, as well as books by other authors on topics as diverse as witchcraft, genetics and Beowulf.

Thanks to Allison & Busby for providing a review copy of Tapestry of War and to Penguin Random House for a review copy of The Desert War.

Do you like to read fiction and non-fiction on the same subject? Can you think of any pairs of books that go well together?