The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard
The name Arthur Conan Doyle is inextricably linked with Sherlock Holmes, yet Doyle created another character who, while not as polished and insightful as the master sleuth, is nonetheless as attractive and engaging. Brigadier Etienne Gerard is a proud, stubborn, loyal, and courageous officer in the famed army of Napoleon. He is also, regrettably, somewhat dense and completely unimaginative. While his dash and heroism get our redoubtable hero out of countless scrapes, his dull wit and slow mental state leads him into even more.
Doyle wrote these seventeen short stories shortly after concluding his Holmes-Watson adventures. Gerard is as unlikely a leading character as one can find, but the reader who dislikes him has yet to be born. The historical settings are as accurately portrayed as any, and the humor and charm of the Hussar officer stands in stark contrast to the dangerous world he inhabits. Funny and fun. Vive l’Empereur!
