Too Few for Drums

by R.F. Delderfield

Book Overview

They set out as ten who must wend their way out from behind French lines in Portugal and back to the British army. This tale of the Peninsular Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars offers an unforgettable adventure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093552696X
• ISBN13: 9780935526967
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: McBooks Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Delderfield visits the Penninsular War

This novel is set against the backdrop of Wellington's Penninsular campaign, around the year 1810. Wellington's army is retreating to Lisbon and being chased by a large force under Napoleon's Marshal Massena. 19 year-old British ensign Keith Graham is cut off with a squad of 8 men and a drummer boy after a nervous engineer prematurely detonates explosives destroying a bridge. The inexperienced Graham is aided first by a veteran sergeant, and later by a very wise Welsh camp follower named Gwyneth. Fans of Cornwell's Sharpe's Rifles series will recognize many of the plot elements: a small force cut off behind enemy lines, the "war of atrocities" between the spanish partisans and the French, the need for constant vigilance against roving French cavalry patrols, etc. But of course this novel was written a generation before Cornwell even began the Sharpe's Rifles series, so if anyone borrowed, it was Cornwell, not Delderfield. Graham has to learn alot about leadership and resourcefulness in a hurry. He comes to respect the courage and determination of his men, despite the class differences that create such a gulf between he and them. Above all he comes to respect and rely upon Gwyneth, the camp follower they meet along the way. A previous reviewer calls her a "Welsh wonder woman," which is not an exaggeration. Even though she is only a couple of years older than Grahm, she has been following the army for over five years. Still, that hardly seems sufficient time for her to have absorbed more strategy and tactics than Wellington and Napoleon combined. As Delderfield depicts her, she should have been a captain or a major; indeed, the war would have been over much sooner had she been commanding the entire British army. Not that this ruined the novel for me; I enjoyed it very much. It is clear that Delderfield has great respect for women and regards them as fully human, whereas Cornwell draws them only as prizes to be won by male bravery. This novel does not compare favorably to Cornwell only in that no major engagement is described, whereas Cornwell always includes a history lesson by desribing an important battle.

Enjoyable Read

While not the best novel for characterization, Too Few For Drums is an enjoyable novel about the Peninsular Campaign. The descriptions of Spain are good. The technical aspects of the novel including units, uniforms, movements of the armies, etc., are accurate. True, the characters are stereotypical and somewhat shallow. If anything, I would say that the novel was too short and needed more work before its release.