The Regiment

Murdoch Mackinder Trilogy #1

by Christopher Nicole

One in a long line of Makinders who have commanded the regiment, Murdoch joins the Royal Western Dragoon Guards as a Lieutenant before the Boer War. More dangerous than the perils of war, however, is the envy of his fellow officers and the double edge of his most cherished friendship.

Genres: Historical Fiction

382 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1988

About the author

Christopher Robin Nicole was born on 7 December 1930 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), where he was raised. He is the son of Jean Dorothy (Logan) and Jack Nicole, a police officer, both Scottish. He studied at Queen's College in Guyana and at Harrison College in Barbados. He was a fellow at the Canadian Bankers Association and a clerk for the Royal Bank of Canada in Georgetown and Nassau from 1947 to 1956. In 1957, he moved to Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom, where he currently lives, but he also has a domicile in Spain.

On 31 March 1951, he married his first wife, Jean Regina Amelia Barnett, with whom he had two sons, Bruce and Jack, and two daughters, Julie and Ursula, they divorced. On 8 May 1982 he married for the second time with fellow writer Diana Bachmann.

As a romantic and passionate of history, Nicole has been published since 1957, when he published a book about West Indian Cricket. He published his first novel in 1959 with his first stories set in his native Caribbean. Later he wrote many historical novels set mostly in tumultuous periods like World War I, World War II and the Cold War, and depict places in Europe, Asia and Africa. He also wrote classic romance novels. He specialized in Series and Sagas, and continues to write into the 21st century with no intention of retiring.

He signs his books as Christopher Nicole and uses several pseudonyms, some of them female. Pseudonyms used include: Peter Grange, Andrew York, Robin Cade, Mark Logan, Christina Nicholson, Alison York, Leslie Arlen, Robin Nicholson, C. R. Nicholson, Daniel Adams, Simon McKay, Caroline Gray and Alan Savage. He wrote disaster thrillers in collaboration with his wife, Diana Bachmann, under the penname Max Marlow. Under his different pseudonyms he has worked with many publishing houses: Jarrolds, Hutchinson, Simon & Schuster, Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, Jove, Michael Joseph, Mills & Boon, and Severn House.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christop... and
http://openlibrary.org/authors/OL1009...

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Regiment follows the career of Murdoch Mackinder who joins the British army as a young cavalry subaltern in the 1890s. He is burdened by the weight of expectation as his family has provided several of the regiment's former colonels.

The book follows him from the Boer War through to Mons in 1914 charting battles, injuries romance and more along the way. There are some great action sequences though the author has a habit of pausing every now and again to deliver a history lesson which slows things down a bit.

There are a large number of characters too which can make it hard to keep track. The ending seems rather sudden but then this is part of a series, however, I'm not sure it's convinced me enough to read the rest.

[stephen armitage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boer War and more.

An excellent story written with an understanding of our and our enemies tactics. A real insight as to how the Boers fought in South Africa and the barbaric tactics used by the British against women and children.

[Ian Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real life action

A great story blending action and history with convincing detail . Something with a slightly different angle to make this an absorbing read about a dramatic , busy time in British history.

[geoffrey rimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good historical novel

The book has a good story line and describes how the armies fought during the early part of the 20th century with little regard for the lives of the men. It seemed a little far fetched to meet Refer during the fighting.

[Allan Stein]

Had read previously.

[Nigel Copeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boys become men

A great story about the real way a battle should be fought but the loss of life is real and so many families are damaged on both sides.

[Shannelle Simms · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times I forgot if I was reading Dawson or this set, though this was by far the more interesting of the two. Pretty standard Nicole imo

[George Graham Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Kept my interest and felt as though you were part of the story and part of the Regiment. Highly Recommended

[Randhir · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for the soldier or all those who believe in regimental esprit de corps. It starts off with young Mackinder joining his father's regiment and his travails with it through NW Frontier, Somaliland, the Boer War and the start of World War 1. Since it's a trilogy one expects Mackinder to go through the carnage with honour intact and glory to his naive. The story sounds naive but it strikes a deep seated chord with those who have followed a family tradition where courage, honour and integrity are above all. I thought a romantic interlude was not managed to well and does leave a blemish in the hero's character. I look forward to the other two editions eagerly