This particular book was loaned and then given to me by the Venerable Bede whose blog is linked here so special thanks to Bede! The difficulty with inspiring writing for a gaming period / event is getting the right balance of action and story with something that is genuine. In this work, Defoe [of "Robinson Crusoe" fame] shows his talent for writing in another's voice so well, that contemporaries [including veterans] thought it was a real memoir, not a novel!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0192827103/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
The story is of a young cavalier who departs for a European tour with a friend during the 30YW and quickly finds himself drawn into the conflict despite personal reservations and family restrictions. The military details are great, the revelations about service in two major wars is invaluable to inform the gamer of the period, and the story has lots of forward momentum.
I haven't finished, but I already recommend it to anyone interested in the ECW and who enjoys memoirs. The language and punctuation is a bit odd but not hard to follow. This edition also has a commentary at the start that can be skipped but it's there if you need it.
I give it a 9/10 Cornets for period flavor, inspiration, and storyline.
How Men of Quality Resolve Differences
Pudel and Peper attacks - an ugly but inevitable part of any 17th C. British Civil War, "Oh! The Shame of it All!"
You can download copies or read it online from the following locations:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12259
http://archive.org/details/memoirsofcavalie00defouoft
-- Jeff