The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars
1881
England, 1704. After a violent dispute with his stepbrother, seventeen-year-old Rupert Holliday flees westward across the Channel, leaving behind his grandfather's country house and his fencing lessons with Monsieur Dessin. He arrives in the Netherlands with nothing but his sword and his pride, and finds himself enlisted in the most formidable army in Europe: the forces of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. Over the next decade, Rupert will ride through the smoke of Blenheim, stand in the ranked squares at Ramillies, and survive the blood-soaked mud of Malplaquet. Henty renders the War of the Spanish Succession with extraordinary vividness, weaving real campaigns and real commanders into a boy's journey from fugitive to officer. This is adventure without apology: a story of loyalty tested, honor earned, and a young man who wins both glory and a French bride. For readers who grew up on Patrick O'Brian, George MacDonald Fraser, or Henty's own Across the Zulu Border, this is a time machine into the age of cavalry charges and standing armies.
