The Spanish Bride: A Novel of Love and War

By Georgette Heyer

Book Overview

"My favourite historical novelist." -- Margaret Drabble

A tale of love at first sight, based on the true story of Brigade-Major Harry Smith and the very young Spanish noblewoman he met and married during the Peninsular Wars, when the Duke of Wellington's forces fought Napoleon's army in Spain and Portugal.

After marrying Harry Smith when she was 14 years old, Juana Smith "followed the drum," marching at the back of the troops along with the other wives and the officers' servants. Juana became a camp favorite, charming all with her youthful enthusiasm. In spite of the danger, Juana thrived on military life and her passionate, if somewhat stormy, relationship with Harry.

Heyer's research encompassed every available diary from that time period, including Harry Smith's, and all of the Duke of Wellington's writings and dispatches. She brings alive military life during the Regency period, how the armies marched and fought, as well as how the nobility provided for its own comfort with servants, horses, dogs and furniture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402211139
• ISBN13: 9781402211133
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.2" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A favorite book

The Spanish Bride is one of my favorite books of all times. During the Napoleonic wars, an English officer married an aristocratic 14 year old Spaniard as a means of protecting her from the advancing French armies. It is written in a Regency style but the history is accurate so you can have your fun and learn something too.

Beat the drum for this fantastic regency

I've just taken to rereading Heyer's novels, and this one is definitely my favourite so far. Based on the true story of Harry and Juana Smith, this is romance without the gloss. No beautiful houses, fantastic scenery, balls, frills and furbelows. It's full of blood and guts, and if anyone ever doubted the existence of feisty heroines during the Regency period, then Juana definitely provides the proof. Married to Harry at 14, she followed the drum with him, and this novel covers the period of their lives from just before Badajos through Waterloo. Having read some of B-M Smith's memoirs, I think Heyer has probably put a little gloss on her portrayal of him, since I felt he sounded somewhat pompous and self-absorbed, but there's little doubt he and his fellow comrades-at-arms truly did adore Juana. Heyer has obviously done her research and gives a real flavour of the privations suffered during the wars, particularly those on the Iberian Peninsula. Her descriptions of the battles and their aftermath definitely don't spare the reader's sensibilities. That said, if you are not interested in this era of British history, or find lengthy descriptions of battles and strategy not to your taste, then you should probably skip this one. Personally I loved it - and I believe it's one of her best.

My Other Favorite

The Spanish Bride is the fictionalized history of two very real individuals, Brigade-Major Harry Smith and 14 year old Juana who he rescued and married after the Siege of Badajos. Love at first sight for both of them, the story reads like a novel. It follows them through Wellington's campaigne through Portugal, Spain and southern France. It ends with their reunion on the battlefield after Waterloo. One of two books dealing with the Napoleonic Wars in which battles are described so accurately they have been used by the English Public School System, Georgette Heyer proved beyond doubt her mastery of historic detail.

War, Romance, Humour and Tragedy.... and yes its true

Another superb book from Georgette Heyer, focusing on the early life of Brigade Major Harry Smith and his marriage to a 14 orphaned Spanish girl in the midst of Wellington's Peninsular campaign. Unlike her other great Napoleonic book 'An Infamous Army' the principle characters in this book are based on actual people whom she vividly brings to life again.The story begins with the battle and sacking of Badajos and continues right through the Peninsular campaign, drawing a wonderful tapestry around the hardships and privations suffered by the soldiers and civilians caught up in a global conflict.

Wonderful blend of military history and real-life love story

A wonderful book by Georgette Heyer, dealing with the true story of the marriage between Harry Smith, a brigade-major in Wellington army, and Juana, his Spanish bride. It's a marvelous blend of romance and history, and it has been very well researched. It would be interesting not only to Georgette Heyer fans, or those who love a good story, but for all the military buffs out there. I really reccomend i