18 h 35 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 18 h 35 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does honour demand when a soldier must ride forward into overwhelming odds?
In One of the Six Hundred, James Grant sets a young man's private fortunes against the wars of his country. This Victorian adventure brings you into the world of the British army, where loyalty, danger and codes of honour shape a soldier's life. Duty is not just a word here: it asks something of the man who obeys.
The Light Brigade gives the novel its frame. Its title recalls the cavalry charge at Balaclava during the Crimean War, remembered for bravery against terrible odds and the confusion that sends the horsemen forward. Grant's direct voice, vivid action and openly patriotic tone invite you into a soldier's tale of courage and the cost of service.
What you’ll discover
- A soldier's private fortunes Follow a young man's story where personal hopes meet the demands of his country's wars.
- The Light Brigade's shadow Explore an adventure framed by cavalry bravery and the terrible odds at Balaclava.
- Honour under pressure Consider what obedience demands when a soldier's duty carries a heavy personal cost.
- The colour of army life Enter a military world defined by its loyalties, dangers and strong codes of honour.
- Victorian adventure in full voice Meet Grant's love of vivid action, long sentences and an openly patriotic tone.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like soldier's tales with a romance at the center, rivals in the same regiment, ghostly legends, and eyewitness style scenes of the Crimean campaign told with Scottish warmth.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lancer comes home to Fife
- A house full of rivals and guests
- A legend, a hunt and a runaway
- A secret engagement and a worrying silence
- The girl at the cottage and a ruined evening
- A challenge and a hollow peace
- Ships, tales and a far off silence
- Cholera, a nurse and a landing
- The Alma, a captive and a burning train
- Honor, loss and the Valley of Death
Who’s who
- Newton NorcliffA Scottish lancer captain who tells the story, loves Lady Louisa, and carries his own honor through the war.
- Cora CalderwoodNewton's gentle cousin at Calderwood Glen, who hides her love for him and acts for his happiness.
- Lady Louisa LoftusThe proud, dark-haired daughter of an earl, whom Newton loves and whose mother wants a grander marriage.
- De Warr BerkeleyA wealthy, drawling officer in Newton's regiment who hides a brewer's family name and works against Newton.
- Sir Nigel CalderwoodNewton's hearty old uncle, a hunting baronet who loves Scotland, his nephew, and plain speech.
- Willie PitbladoNewton's faithful servant and a lancer in his troop, the son of the Calderwood gamekeeper.
- Jack StudhomeThe regiment's adjutant and Newton's closest friend, a cheerful, loyal officer.
- Agnes AuriolA gentle, consumptive musician deceived by Berkeley, who lives in a cottage near the Reculvers.
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
- 18 h 35 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 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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Un des six cents
by James Grant
A young lancer captain loves an earl's daughter, but a smiling rival in his own regiment is working against him.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
One of the Six Hundred is a novel by James Grant, a Scottish writer of military romances who died in 1887. It is told by Newton Norcliff, a captain in a lancer regiment, who looks back on the years that carried him from a Scottish country house to the Crimean War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lancer comes home to Fife
The story begins at Maidstone barracks, where Newton Norcliff reads the order that gives him a month's leave. The regiment is to be ready for foreign service in the spring, so this holiday may be his last at home. He leaves his horses with his friend Jack Studhome, the adjutant, and takes the night train with his servant, Willie Pitblado.
The journey runs through London and up the length of England to Scotland. On the way Newton remembers leaving home six years earlier as a raw boy, and his mother's tears when he left for the regiment. She died while he was serving in India, so this homecoming carries grief as well as joy. At Stirling an old porter who fought in the Peninsular War grumbles about his tiny pension, a first sign of how soldiers are treated.
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What is One of the Six Hundred about?
It follows Newton Norcliff, a Scottish lancer captain, from a love affair in Fife through the Crimean campaign to the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, with a rivalry, a captivity and a family story along the way.
Who are the Six Hundred?
They are the cavalrymen of the British Light Brigade, who rode down a valley at Balaclava on 25 October 1854 toward Russian guns. Tennyson's poem made their charge famous, and the novel quotes its opening lines.
Is One of the Six Hundred a true story?
The narrator and his friends are made up, but the battles, generals and many events come from the real Crimean War. James Grant wrote it in the nineteenth century as a military romance.
The author
James Grant
1822–1887 · Scottish historical novelist
James Grant was a Scottish novelist born in Edinburgh in 1822. He wrote historical novels and books about military history. His first novel, The Romance of War, appeared in 1845. His other novels included Jane Seton and Under the Red Dragon. He died in London in 1887.
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