The Conscript & Waterloo: Historical Novels – The Napoleonic Wars

by Erckmann-Chatrian

While other novelists center attention on the heroism and adventures of the Napoleonic era, Erkmann and Chatrian describe the ugly side of wars, directing our attention to the exhaustion and suffering of simple, peaceful people forced to sustain the well-being of the army. The mood of both stories is reflected in the opening words of "" "Everybody was tired of living like a bird on a branch and of risking their lives for matters which did not concern them." Yet, people's expectations didn't come true. The novel "Conscript" tells about the war in Moscow of 1813. The troops needed reinforcement, and it was provided with the conscript campaign of 1813. We learn about that time from a narrator, a watchmaker apprentice, who lived a peaceful life before being taken to the army. In those times, most people celebrated Napoleon's glory, and even the thoughts of the possible defeat seemed sinful. "A few old Republicans would shake their heads and mutter over their wine that the Emperor might yet fall, but they passed for fools," tells the narrator, whose life changes drastically. He is to face all the horrors of war and defeat, the infamous retreat, which is later followed by his surprise of the second campaign, which had even more disastrous consequences. The topic of the second novel in a bundle, "The Waterloo," is clear from the name itself, as it became a synonym of a disastrous defeat on the battlefield. Like in "Conscript," the main motive of the story is the suffering of peaceful people forced to go to war.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1874

About the author

Erckmann-Chatrian is a pen name for two writers : Émile Erckmann (Phalsbourg 1822 - Lunéville 1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (Soldatenthal 1826 - Villemomble 1890)

Both Erckmann and Chatrian were born in the département of Moselle, in the Lorraine region in the extreme north-east of France. They specialised in military fiction and ghost stories in a rustic mode, applying to the Vosges mountain range and the Alsace-Lorraine region techniques inspired by story-tellers from the Black Forest. Lifelong friends who first met in the spring of 1847, they finally quarreled during the mid-1880s, after which they did not produce any more stories jointly. During 1890 Chatrian died, and Erckmann wrote a few pieces under his own name.

Many of Erckmann-Chatrian's works were translated into English by Adrian Ross.

Tales of supernatural horror by the duo that are famous in English include "The Wild Huntsman" (tr. 1871), "The Man-Wolf" (tr. 1876) and "The Crab Spider." These stories received praise from the renowned English ghost story writer, M. R. James, as well as H. P. Lovecraft.

Erckmann-Chatrian wrote numerous historical novels, some of which attacked the Second Empire in anti-monarchist terms. Partly as a result of their republicanism, they were praised by Victor Hugo and Émile Zola, and fiercely attacked in the pages of Le Figaro. Gaining popularity from 1859 for their nationalistic, anti-militaristic and anti-German sentiments, they were well-selling authors but had trouble with political censorship throughout their careers. Generally the novels were written by Erckmann, and the plays mostly by Chatrian.