Under Two Flags: A Story of the Household and the Desert

by Ouida, Natalie Schroeder (Editor)

Handsome young Bertie Cecil, star horseman, pride of the Queen's guards, and heir to the Royallieu fortune, is forced to flee England when he accepts the blame for a scandal that threatens the honour of his mistress and the reputation of his younger brother. Faking his death, Cecil heads to Algeria, where he enlists anonymously in the Foreign Legion and serves under the French flag.

Determined to live and die in obscurity and sworn never to return to England, Cecil finds his resolution shaken by his relationships with two women who love him, the haughty Princess Venetia Corona and the young "unsexed" soldier Cigarette. And when Cecil is forced to make a choice between the two flags of England and France, a terrible sacrifice will have to be made, which will lead to tragedy.

Ouida's phenomenal success Under Two Flags was first published in book form in 1867 and remained in print continuously until the mid-twentieth century and also appeared in a number of film versions. An exciting tale of war, adventure, romance, and tragedy, Under Two Flags returns in this new edition to thrill new generations of readers. This edition features the unabridged text of the exceedingly rare three-volume first edition as well as a reproduction of the cover of the 1892 "yellowback" edition. Also included are an introduction and notes by Ouida scholar Natalie Schroeder.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Novels, Ebooks, Algeria

786 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1867

About the author

Ouida was the pen name of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée).

During her career, she wrote more than 40 novels, children's books and collections of short stories and essays. She was an animal rights activist and animal rescuer, and at times owned as many as thirty dogs. For many years she lived in London, but about 1874 she went to Italy, where she died.

Ouida's work went through several phases during her career. In her early period, her novels were a hybrid of the sensationalism of the 1860s and the proto-adventure novels dubbed "muscular fiction" that were emerging in part as a romanticization of imperial expansion. Later her work was more along the lines of historical romance, though she never stopped comment on contemporary society. She also wrote several stories for children. One of her most famous novels, Under Two Flags, described the British in Algeria in the most extravagant of terms, while nonetheless also expressing sympathy for the French—with whom Ouida deeply identified—and, to some extent, the Arabs. This book went on to be staged in plays, and subsequently to be turned into at least three movies, transitioning Ouida in the 20th century.

Jack London cites her novel Signa, which describes an unschooled Italian peasant child who achieves fame as an opera composer, and which he read at age eight, as one of the eight reasons for his literary success.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg

I revised this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will publish it. Several movies have being made based on this book.

From IMdb:Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. "BEAUTY OF THE BRIGADES"
II. THE LOOSE BOX, AND THE TABAGIE
III. THE SOLDIERS' BLUE RIBBON
IV. LOVE À LA MODE
V. UNDER THE KEEPER'S TREE
VI. THE END OF A RINGING RUN
VII. AFTER A RICHMOND DINNER
VIII. A STAG HUNT AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE
IX. THE PAINTED BIT
X. "PETITE REINE"
XI. FOR A WOMAN'S SAKE
XII. THE KING'S LAST SERVICE
XIII. IN THE CAFÉ OF THE CHASSEURS
XIV. "DE PROFUNDIS" BEFORE "PLUNGING"
XV. "L'AMIE DU DRAPEAU”
XVI. CIGARETTE EN BACCHANTE
XVII. UNDER THE HOUSES OF HAIR
XVIII. CIGARETTE EN BIENFAITRICE
XIX. THE IVORY SQUADRONS
XX. CIGARETTE EN CONSEIL ET CACHETTE
XXI. CIGARETTE EN CONDOTTIERA
XXII. THE MISTRESS OF THE WHITE KING
XXIII. THE LITTLE LEOPARD OF FRANCE
XXIV. "MILADI AUX BEAUX YEUX BLEUS"
XXV. "LE BON ZIG"
XXVI. ZARAILA
XXVII. THE LOVE OF THE AMAZON
XXVIII. THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST
XXIX. BY THE BIVOUAC FIRE
XXX. SEUL AU MONDE
XXXI. "JE VOUS ACHÈTE VOTRE VIE"
XXXII. "VENETIA"
XXXIII. THE GIFT OF THE CROSS
XXXIV. THE DESERT HAWK AND THE PARADISE BIRD
XXXV. ORDEAL BY FIRE
XXXVI. THE VENGEANCE OF THE LITTLE ONE
XXXVII. IN THE MIDST OF HER ARMY
THE LAST. AT REST

4* A Leaf in the Storm
4* A Dog of Flanders
4* Wanda
3* An Altruist
5* Under Two Flags: A Story of the Household and the Desert
TR Signa
TR Othmar
TR In Maremma

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

You get a lot of recommendations for books to read for the current crisis. Like Decameron or The Plague. One of the two main female characters in this book is called Venetia Corona. How is that? And the other one, even better, Cigarette!

It is another book that waited on my shelves for 25 years to be read. Every now and then one hears about Ouida, most of the time with mild contempt. She wrote popular books, with, I think it is fair to say, very clear cut characters.

But Under Two Flags is not bad at all. Although far too long. So our hero, the son of a Lord, has to flee and join the French Foreign Legion because his brother forged his and his friend’s signature. Why not, only does it have to take 170 pages? I hoped it would get more exciting once he becomes a soldier. But there really is not much going on. The "action" starts when a young English Lady wants to buy some ivory chessmen he made in his spare time. Of course, he will not sell but is prepared to give them to her. And, of course, he falls in love at first sight. Not knowing, as we smart readers do, that she is the sister of his friend from youth, who had tried in vain to save him.

Anyway, there is also Cigarette, who "does not know how to spell her name to save her life." She is in love with the mysterious soldier. A brave little woman, loved by everyone, except our hero, who thinks she is "unsexed". She saves his life a couple of times. And in the end, spoiler alert, literally jumps into the fire of the Death Squad to save him. And the last 80 pages or so were really fun to read. And best of all the confrontation between the two women. "No wonder," says Cigarette, "that men love her when even I cannot hate her."

I like her writing style, which oddly, reminded me of E.C. Tubb. Cut 200 or 300 pages and this could be really good.

According to IMDb, there are 5 film versions of the book. The last one from 1936. She was once very popular.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotton I had read this book. I learned of its existance when I was reading a biography of Theodore Roosevelt. The biography said that when he was growing up, and as a young man began his world wide adventure trips, that this book, "Under Two Flags" was his favorite book. That of course piqued my curiosity.
It is a romanticized story of a disgraced English nobleman who runs away and joins the French Foreign Legion to protect his brother who had an affair. He runs away from all he knows and loves, but finds a happy ending in an unexpected way. It is a fast light read, and I can tell why President Teddy Roosevelt would have liked it. It's kind of like the story of Beau Geste, with English gentlemen running away to join the French Foreign Legion. I have not read that book, but the movie, with Gary Cooper is one of my very favorites.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually give this book a 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 on my blog, www.cloquetriverpress.com, where, as always, you can find a longer review of this book. Ouida is Rame's pen name and she was a prolific author, writing over 40 books during the late 1800s and early 20th century. Her work, including this novel, tends to be a bit too romantic and wordy but there are some interesting characters and a fairly engaging plot in this work to pull you through. You can pick it up for free on Kindle so I'd not shy away from reading the book though it is not, by any means, a classic.
Mark

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book but in contrast to other sensation novels I've read, this really lacked in intrigue and suspense. "Under Two Flags" is, at its core, about honor and people who go to extremes to remain honorable even it means sacrificing everything. The characters are interesting, if occasionally frustrating, and Cigarette is a character I've never seen before in a novel like this. Unfortunatley, it was very clear from the start how the novel would end, which characters would survive and who would end up with whom, but the fascinating characters more than made up for it.

[Richard Epstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maria Louise Ramé died in 1908. Her books were dreadful, of course--those few I've read, anyway--but that was 106 years ago, and Ouida's name still is not unknown. Think James Patterson will fare as well?

(Theda Bara starred as "Cigarette" in the lost 1916 movie version. Quel dommage!)

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing enough.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many words to say so little.

[Todd Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most interesting character in this 1867 swashbuckler is an early example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a character type that has become too common in stories about men learning to become independent. This woman was named Cigarette, and was a favorite of the French Foreign Legion. Her mother was a camp follower, her father is unknown, and she herself is a vivandiere, supplying wine to the French troops. She has an unnatural attachment for all things French and dreams of winning a high award, the Gold Cross.

Then she meets our hero, Bertie Cecil, a British Peer in waiting, who has entered the foreign legion under the name of Louis Victor to escape a slanderous charge of forgery. He sacrifices himself to twelve years in the foreign legion to save the reputations of his younger brother (the actual forger) and a married woman whom he saved from injury in a run-away carriage, although it took him all night. Hence, a shadow on her reputation.

I use the term hero guardedly, because at most he is the protagonist and the hand-wringing moralist of the novel. In England he was a member of the Royal Guard and learned to ride horses, gamble, and entertain married women, whom he found less demanding of his freedom. He also entertained showgirls like ZuZu who liked to spend his money. Bertie owned a fantastic steeple-chaser named Forest King. Although he usually won the races when he road Forest King, jumping over obstacles that broke the backs of ordinary horses, he finally lost when Forest King was doped before a big race. As a result, Bertie's fortunes are wiped out again, together with his brother's fortunes. Forest King feels terrible. The reader knows this because the author jumps into the horse's POV for some of the description.

Our hero is beloved of his friends and his fellow-soldiers. His horse trainer follows him to Algeria where he fights the Muslim Arabs for twelve years with his mate. Bertie never tells his friend, Rake, why he has left England and tried to lose himself, but the guy is just so darn likable that soldiers will follow him willingly into the jaws of death. In fact, he is so likable that he has to be careful not to stand up to a bullying captain for fear of sparking a mutiny among the men.

When Bertie and Cigarette meet, she falls hopelessly in love. Bertie doesn't notice her, finding her amusing, but constantly imagining what a campfollbower will look like in just a few more years. He doesn't think it will be very attractive. She, on the other hand, will sacrifice everything for him.

Okay, here is where it gets weird.

A beautiful woman from England arrives with her retinue to observe the French warriors and combat. She finds Bertie (now known as Louis Victor) to be a handsome and able soldier. She learns that he was one of the few survivors of a twelve-hour battle with swords and lances and charging horses in the night and early morning out in the desert. Just when it looked as though Bertie and his few survivors would be wiped out, Cigarette comes charging in with three squadrons of soldiers to save the day. She had noticed a dust-up and immediately sought help. For this she was given the Golden Cross. She wanted Louis Victor to have it, but his time was supposed to come later.

Cigarette becomes jealous of the beautiful lady, whom she intuits is from Louis Victor's class. She realizes Louis Victor has a secret. Cigarette and the beautiful lady meet. Although Cigarette is unreasonably jealous of the beautiful woman, she agrees to deliver a message to Bertie for her. Bertie is caught by his captain leaving the woman's camp; the captain disparages the lady; Bertie strikes his captain, and is sentenced to the firing squad.

You can probably guess the ending, but I won't spoil it.

The author had some wonderful descriptions of desert battles and of horse racing. Her description of Cigarette was compelling and created the strongest (certainly a relative term) character in the book. The descriptions of camaraderie strained credulity. No way would anyone follow bozo Bertie who was silent as a tomb regarding his background. The author did not have a consistent POV character, jumping from Bertie to Cigarette to minor characters to Forest King.

I've wanted to read this book since I was a boy. Although it was tedious in a few parts and repetitive regarding Bertie's moral dilemma, overall it was a satisfactory swashbuckler. It helped to read it on Kindle, where I could look up the archaic words and the phrases in French.

[Glass River]

‘Je n’écris pas pour les femmes, j’écris pour les militaires’, was the author’s proud boast. Despite the grand pen-name she was born, humbly enough, Maria Louise Ramé at Bury St Edmunds. Her Guernsey-born father, Louis Ramé, was a teacher of French; her mother (née Sutton) was as English as Suffolk mutton. M. Ramé gave his quick-witted, artistic and precocious daughter an unusually good education for a country girl of her background, but paternal care he did not give. In the 1860s he went off to Paris and – as she liked to think – disappeared during the upheaval of the 1871 Commune. Or he may just have walked out on what had proved to be an uninteresting entanglement in the English provinces.
Ouida made her name, young and glamorously, as a writer of sporting novels. Under Two Flags became a perennial bestseller, and the archetype of innumerable French Foreign Legion novels (see BEAU GESTE) – although this rag-tag scum were not the militaires Ouida claimed to cater for.
The Hon. Bertie Cecil of the Life Guards is a dashing man about town, a champion of the race course, a lover of beautiful women and a gambler ‘known generally in the Brigades as “Beauty.” The appellative, gained at Eton, was in no way undeserved’. He is ‘one of the cracks of the Household’.
But the good life ends when he fakes his own death and leaves London in order to protect the reputation of a lady and the honour of his unworthy younger brother Berkeley. Using the name ‘Louis Victor’, Bertie enlists as a chasseur d’Afrique and performs prodigies of horsey valour against the Arab rebels in Algeria. He also incurs the implacable enmity of the sadistic Colonel Chateauroy. Bertie is loved by the beautiful camp follower, Cigarette. Although he treats her courteously, he gives his heart to the mysterious Princess Corona (who eventually turns out to be Bertie’s best friend’s sister).
The hero’s elder brother dies and the Royallieu title (rightfully Bertie’s) goes to Berkeley, who also turns up in North Africa, which by this time is becoming rather crowded with aristocratic English folk. In a tremendous climax Bertie strikes Chateauroy for daring to insult the Princess Corona and is sentenced to death. Cigarette takes to her horse to inform a marshal of France of the condemned man’s true identity and wins his reprieve. She gallops back, neck and crop, but a smidgen too late. Bertie has already given the firing squad the signal for his own ‘deathshot’. Fingers are tightening on triggers. Cigarette hurls herself into the fusillade, taking into her heart the bullets intended for Bertie. Ouida describes it rather more richly:
The flash of fire was not so fleet as the swiftness of her love; and on his breast she threw herself, and flung her arms about him, and turned her head backward with her old, dauntless, sunlit smile as the balls pierced her bosom, and broke her limbs, and were turned away by the shield of warm young life from him.
She dies a martyr for love and Bertie marries the princess. The ‘little one’ will lie, for ever honoured, in a North African grave, under a white stone:
troops, as they passed it by, saluted and lowered their arms in tender reverence, in faithful, unasked homage, because beneath the Flag they honoured there was carved in the white stone one name that spoke to every heart within the army she had loved, one name on which the Arab sun streamed as with a martyr’s glory:
‘CIGARETTE, “ENFANT DE L’ARMEE, SOLDAT DE LA FRANCE.’
Vive la France! Vive l’amour!

[Angie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a tad mean giving this three-stars because it is almost a four-star book. But there are simply too many long, repetitive and overly flowery (even by Victorian standards) passages. There were so many it just simply dragged for no real reason. It really should have been considerably shorter.

However, when it was good, it was pretty darn good, indeed. I enjoyed the meat of the story itself. It has action, romance and intrigue. Cigarette is a fun, if over-the-top, character. I actually didn't mind the time-wasting passages so much when they focused exclusively on her. Also, I got a kick out of all her "chuts, poufs, and bahs". Fun stuff.

I read this because "Roy Reads Anything" is featuring it on his "booktube" channel on Youtube as part of his upcoming 2026 series on forgotten Victorian authors. It was good fun if not exactly 100% successful for me.

Side note: I've snagged a copy of the 1936 screen adaptation featuring the handsome Ronald Colman (swoooon) and the always delightful Claudette Colbert as Cigarette. I'm sure it will be brilliant.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melodrama and adventure! I will say the first 200 pages were kind of a slog, the story got a lot more interesting after them (and the time skip). Basically, a British aristocrat chooses oblivion in the French foreign legion in Algeria to prevent dishonor to his brother and a lady. Theres a love triangle between him, a beautiful aristocratic lady he knew in the past (his best friend's baby sister) and a scrappy girl soldier. Considering the time period this book was written, it is pretty obvious how it will all end.

[Fazackerly Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the prose is incredibly ripe but I loved this. They need to make the movie NOW!

[Conor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won't lie, I didn't finish it, but 80 pages in and I really don't like it. I can see how others might, but its just not for me.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly superior adventure story

[Kla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Struggled with this from the first page to the last. First part is a quicksand of boredom, and the rest corny glorification of the aristocracy.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome and terrible. This is basically the lowest common denominator of adventure novels, a story about the depths Bertie Cecil will sonk to in order not to stain his honor. And it's ridiculous, but in a really wonderful way.

[Ioannidesz Evjeniosz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό!!!