Under the Red Dragon: A Novel

About the book

Harry Hardinge receives an invitation to Craigaderyn Court while his regiment waits for orders that may send him overseas. The visit promises another meeting with Lady Estelle Cressingham, whose social position makes his attachment seem as impractical as it is persistent. Sir Madoc Lloyd's welcoming household, his daughters, and a suspiciously influential guest complicate Harry's expectations. Grant develops the country-house intrigues before carrying his soldier narrator into the campaigns against Russia. News from home and uncertainties of affection remain potent even amid military danger. The combination of courtship, class consciousness, and campaigning gives Harry two kinds of trial: judging people when appearances are deceptive, and acting under the immediate demands of service. The red dragon associates his personal adventures with the identity of the Welsh regiment.

• Love and social rank
• Military duty
• Deception and trust

Why read it

The country-house opening gives the later wartime separations specific emotional stakes.

English text of the 1873 George Routledge and Sons edition