The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars

This is taken from the journals of Nadezhda Durova who disguised as a man and joined the Russian cavalry in 1806. Rumours about her reached tsar Alexander I and she continued her career with this protection. She took part in the entire campaign against Napoleon and finally quitted the service to return to her family.
This was an odd read, her adoration for the tsar and her enjoyment of the free life she led in male disguise are described in gushing, almost fervent prose. But she also comes across as a high-handed aristocrat in her treatment of civilians, and her attitude towards the many different peoples in the Russian empire that she meets is often contradictory. She tells little about training and actual service in the cavalry, and show more one gets the impression that there wasn't much of it. She appears to have had quite a lot of free time to read and explore the countryside wherever she was posted. Her sojourn in Holstein comes in for particular praise, maybe she was prepared to find everything wonderful because the Imperial family had its roots there.
The edition is very satisfactory, Zirin provides translations for Durova's many expressions in other languages, she adds biographical information for many of the officers mentioned in the text and she provides historical context whenever Durova's account disagrees with the official chronology and her service record. show less

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