8 h 24 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the bravest man in the saddle is also the last to see his own mistakes?
Etienne Gerard has no doubts about his sword, his horsemanship or his glory. In Arthur Conan Doyle's linked adventure stories, the old hussar tells of his service in Napoleon's wars. Spies, duels, chases and narrow escapes test his courage—and give his boundless pride plenty of room to cause trouble.
Gerard adores Napoleon and respects the Duke of Wellington as a worthy opponent. But great commanders share the stage with a soldier's world of horse and sabre, quick decisions and desperate bluffs. Across these tales of vanity, loyalty and the comedy of honour, Gerard's bravery shines even when his judgement fails him.
What you’ll discover
- A hero's greatest admirer Meet a narrator whose faith in his own brilliance makes every boast part of the fun.
- Horse and sabre adventures Follow Gerard through chases, duels and narrow escapes where a soldier must act fast.
- Courage tangled with pride Discover how real bravery and ridiculous vanity can live comfortably in the same man.
- An emperor through loyal eyes See Napoleon through Gerard's devotion, with imperial favour the highest prize he can imagine.
- Warmth beneath the wit Enjoy the gap between Gerard's grand account of himself and the mistakes he cannot see.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love swashbuckling adventure, Napoleonic battlefields, comic heroes with huge self-regard, and short tales full of horses, swords, spies and sudden danger.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young avenger drags Gerard into a castle
- Napoleon sends a swordsman who must not think
- A wounded colonel falls among Spanish guerrillas
- A prisoner on Dartmoor plans his escape
- Gerard and an English friend face Marshal Millefleurs
- Gerard encounters a secret society in Germany
- A letter crosses enemy country in the final campaign
- Three old soldiers guard the Emperor's secret papers
- A vain hero whose stories hold more than he knows
Who’s who
- Etienne GerardA vain, brave, lucky hussar officer of the Third Hussars, who tells his own adventures and always wants to serve the Emperor.
- NapoleonThe Emperor, who sends Gerard on secret errands, rewards his loyalty with sharp words and trusts his sword more than his brain.
- DurocA young sub-lieutenant who wants to avenge his murdered father and persuades Gerard to help him find a Baron.
- The BartA cheerful English cavalry officer who loves wagers and sport and becomes Gerard's friend across enemy lines.
- Marshal MillefleursA polite, mocking Englishman who leads a band of deserters and has made an abbey in Portugal his stronghold.
- VioletteGerard's fast gray mare, who carries him through danger and whom he loves above nearly everything.
- The Princess of Saxe-FelsteinA clever, proud German noblewoman who wants to turn her husband against France and uses every weapon she has.
- TremeauAn old Egyptian veteran, a captain of voltigeurs, who joins Gerard and Despienne on the Emperor's secret mission.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 24 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Les Exploits du brigadier Gérard
by Arthur Conan Doyle · 1896
A hussar lieutenant follows a young avenger into a castle and finds himself locked in a storeroom.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What does a cavalry officer do when he is locked in a castle storeroom with cheese and wine but no way out? In The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard, Arthur Conan Doyle lets an old French hussar tell his adventures over a café table.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A young avenger drags Gerard into a castle
The first tale opens in February 1807, during the winter campaign in Poland. Lieutenant Etienne Gerard is riding to rejoin his regiment when he meets Sub-Lieutenant Duroc, a pale young officer who keeps asking villagers for a certain Baron Straubenthal.
Duroc finally explains. His father, a banker, was murdered in the September massacres of the Revolution by a brutal Jacobin named Carabin, who later took a noble title and fled France. The Baron now lives in a black fortress the peasants call the Castle of Gloom. Duroc begs Gerard to come along, and Gerard, who never refuses an adventure, agrees.
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What is The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard about?
It is a collection of eight tales told by Etienne Gerard, an old French hussar who recalls his adventures during the Napoleonic wars, from duels and ambushes to a prison escape and secret missions for the Emperor.
Who is Brigadier Gerard?
Doyle invented him, though his stories move through real battles, real places and real figures such as Napoleon and Wellington.
Is The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard a true story?
No. Gerard and his adventures are invented by Arthur Conan Doyle, though the setting is the real Napoleonic wars, and real people such as Napoleon, Wellington, Massena and Talleyrand appear in the tales.
The author
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859–1930 · British detective novelist
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician born in Edinburgh in 1859. He practised medicine in England and wrote novels, short stories and histories. His Sherlock Holmes stories began with A Study in Scarlet in 1887. He also wrote The Lost World in 1912. He died in Crowborough, England, in 1930.
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