Story summary
Краткое содержание: Под Красным драконом
- Чтение: 8 мин.
- 10 parts
- Аудио скоро
A poor lieutenant answers a Welsh invitation that leads him from a country fête to the trenches of Sebastopol.
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Под Красным драконом — кратко о книге
Краткое содержание: 8 min на чтение
- Время чтения
- Около 9 h 55 min7 h 50 min fast, 11 h 45 min slow
- Длительность
- Слов: 141 100
- Уровень в библиотеке
- Сложное чтение long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- Первая публикация
- 1872by Джеймс Грант
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Сколько времени нужно на чтение классики · Обновлено
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Под Красным драконом in short
Under the Red Dragon follows one young officer through two kinds of trial. In Wales he courts a proud earl's daughter against her mother's will and the schemes of a clever adventurer. In the Crimea he faces the cold, the siege and the guns, and meets a Russian family whose kindness complicates his loyalties.
What Под Красным драконом is about
What would you risk for one more meeting with the woman you love, when she may be out of your reach? Harry Hardinge, a poor lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusileers, holds a letter that offers him exactly that chance. An old friend, Sir Madoc Lloyd, invites him to a summer fête at Craigaderyn Court in North Wales, and Lady Estelle Cressingham will be among the guests.
Under the Red Dragon is a novel by James Grant, a Scottish writer who made his name with tales of soldiers. It is set in the Crimean War and follows one regiment from Winchester to the trenches before Sebastopol. You get Welsh legend, a smooth adventurer with a diamond ring, a boat ride gone wrong, and a war where cold and mud matter most.
Для кого. If you love romance set against real history, soldierly friendship, country-house rivalries and Welsh folklore, or vivid scenes of the Crimean War, this novel offers all of them in one story.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A Welsh invitation tempts a poor lieutenant
The story opens at Winchester in the summer of 1854. Harry Hardinge, a lieutenant of twenty-five, sits in his bare barrack room with two friends, Phil Caradoc and Charley Gwynne. Then his servant brings a letter, and Harry falls silent.
The letter comes from Sir Madoc Lloyd, an old Welsh baronet who has known Harry since he was a boy. He invites him to Craigaderyn Court for a birthday fête. He adds, almost in passing, that Lady Estelle Cressingham is a guest, and that a stranger named Hawkesby Guilfoyle seems far too attentive to her.
Alone that night, Harry writes his request for leave. Estelle is the daughter of a dead earl and an heiress, and her mother guards her like a treasure. Harry has only his sword and about seven shillings a day. He knows the wise choice is to refuse, yet he calls himself a moth that cannot keep away from the candle.
A strong wish can beat good sense, and the story starts there.
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Craigaderyn Court welcomes its guests and its ghosts
Harry and Caradoc drive through the Welsh hills and meet their host in the park avenue with his two daughters, Winifred and Dora.
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A smooth stranger stands between Harry and Estelle
Lady Estelle greets Harry with a calm smile and calls him a friend of a season.
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A fête, a cliff path and a boat adrift
The day of Dora's fête is bright, with bands on the lawn and half the county in attendance.
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A secret engagement meets slander at Walcot Park
A farmer finds the pair on the beach the next morning, alive but exhausted.
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The regiment sails east and meets the siege
At dawn the drafts march out of Winchester and board the troopship Urgent.
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A dispatch, a plunge and a château at Yalta
After Inkermann a letter from England wounds Harry's hopes.
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Love is measured by rank, money and loyalty
The book keeps asking what love is worth against a title.
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War strips away glory and tests friendship
Grant presents the Crimean War as a trial of endurance more than a field of glory.
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A first-person voice, Welsh lore and a goat as symbol
Harry tells his own story, looking back, and his voice is chatty, self-mocking and fond of asides.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Harry Hardinge A poor lieutenant of the Royal Welsh Fusileers who tells the story and loves a woman far above his rank.
- Lady Estelle Cressingham A beautiful, proud earl's daughter trained by her mother to marry well, who is drawn to Harry but fears losing her place.
- Winifred Lloyd Sir Madoc's gentle, dark-haired elder daughter, an old friend of Harry's who hides her feelings and gives the regiment a goat.
- Dora Lloyd Winifred's lively younger sister, whose birthday fête brings the guests together and who loves to tease and to help lovers.
- Sir Madoc Lloyd A hearty Welsh baronet, proud of his ancestry and fond of hunting, who treats Harry like a son and shelters his friends.
- Hawkesby Guilfoyle A smooth, boastful adventurer with a diamond ring and many tales, who wants wealth and the favor of Lady Naseby's family.
- Phil Caradoc A handsome, cheerful brother officer and sportsman who follows Harry to Wales and hopes to win Winifred's love.
- Valerie Volhonski A fair, clever Russian lady with a brother in the army, who shelters a wounded stranger at Yalta.
How it ends (spoiler)
Harry is wounded in the storming of the Redan and loses his left arm. Phil Caradoc dies beside him there, with his last thoughts on Winifred. Estelle, now married to Lord Pottersleigh, is left behind, and Harry feels nothing for her. He returns to Craigaderyn, learns that Winifred has loved him all along, and marries her. He is given the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, with his bride watching.
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Вопросы о книге Под Красным драконом
What is Under the Red Dragon about?
It follows Harry Hardinge, a poor lieutenant of the Royal Welsh Fusileers, from a love affair at a Welsh country house to the trenches of the Crimean War, mixing romance, rivalry and battle.
Is Under the Red Dragon a true story?
It is a novel by James Grant, but it follows real events of the Crimean War, such as the Alma, Inkermann and the siege of Sebastopol, with real commanders among its invented characters.
What does the red dragon in the title mean?
The red dragon is the ancient badge of Wales. The Royal Welsh Fusileers carry it on their colors, together with a goat as their mascot, and Harry serves in that regiment.
Who is Hawkesby Guilfoyle?
He is a smooth, boastful adventurer who attaches himself to Lady Naseby's party and the Lloyds' house, wearing a diamond ring that comes with a different story every time he tells it.
Is Under the Red Dragon easy to follow?
Yes, in its short chapters, lively dialogue and the friendly voice of Harry telling his own story. Clear scenes of a fête, a storm, a duel and a siege keep the plot easy to follow.
Как сослаться на это издание
Grant, James. Under the Red Dragon. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/under-the-red-dragon.
Grant, J. (2026). Under the red dragon. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/under-the-red-dragon (Original work published 1872)
Grant, James. Under the Red Dragon. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/under-the-red-dragon.
@book{grant2026under,
author = {Grant, James},
title = {Under the Red Dragon},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/under-the-red-dragon},
note = {First published 1872}
}
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