Product Description

When Captain Edgar Drummond learns he is to serve his first commission in the Crimean war, he brings with him his two sisters, Blanche, the beauty, and Sarah, the bright, eager intelligent one. It will, after all, only be a skirmish. Slowly, as the horrors of the Crimea begin to pervade their lives, the sisters true qualities begin to emerge. Blanche discovers her physical beauty and unabashed frivolity have no place in the harsh world of war and she behaves disgracefully. Edgar, stiff and conventional, finds his obsession with reason and order ineffectual amidst the chaos of war. He cannot cope with his job, not looking after his sisters. Only Sarah finds the courage to take an active role in the war, to protest against the horrors to which the common soldiers are subjected. Her love for the unconventional newspaper man who opens her to reality is thwarted first by her wicked, winsome sister, then by the vagaries of war, but eventually they are brought together in a dirty, slum like room on the quayside at Scutari.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #506739 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 316 pages

From the Back Cover
When Captain Edgar Drummond learns he is to serve his first commission in the Crimea, he decides to take his two sisters with him. It will, after all, be only the smallest of skirmishes and, since childhood he, Blanche and Sarah have been inseparable.

The stiff and talentless Edgar, however, soon finds that his beloved reason and order are ineffectual amidst the chaos of a brutal war. Blanche, too, the beauty of the family, longing for frivolous gaiety and the company of handsome young officers, is soon reduced to frustrated boredom which finally results in her bringing disgrace on all of them.

It is Sarah, brave, loyal, intelligent, who is most affected by the horrors that surround her - Sarah who decides she must play an active part in helping the victims of the war. And it is Sarah who, silently, falls in love with the disturbingly honest man who first exposed her to the realities of the Crimean conflict - Robert Chiltern - who, loved by Sarah, is bewitched by her charming and feckless sister.

About the Author
Caroline Harvey
Caroline Harvey is the pseudonym of Joanna Trollope, the highly acclaimed author of ten bestselling contemporary novels. The Choir, A Village Affair, A Passionate Man, The Rector's Wife, The Men and the Girls, A Spanish Lover, The Best of Friends, Next of Kin, Other People's Children and Marrying the Mistress are all published by Black Swan. Other People's Children has recently been shown on BBC television as a major drama serial. She has also written a study of women in the British Empire, Britannia's Daughters. As Caroline Harvey she has written several historical novels including Legacy of Love, A Second Legacy, Parson Harding's Daughter, The Steps of the Sun, Leaves from the Valley, The Brass Dolphin, City of Gems and The Taverners' Place, which are all published by Corgi Books.

Joanna Trollope was born in Gloucestershire, where she still lives. She was appointed OBE in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to literature.