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The shadow of the sword is Robert Buchanan's first novel. In his preface to the book, Robert Buchanan states that the novel "has been accepted, and praised without stint, by many, as an attack on Despotism in the person of the first Napoleon. I trust, however, that it is something more--an attack on War in the abstract, as the deadliest and most loathsome representation of the retrograde movement of modern political thought."
The story is about Rohan, a handsome and athletic young man, and his abhorrence of war and of his love for beautiful Marcelle, who is devoted to him but unfortunately also a worshipper of the god-like Napoleon.
Rohan is conscripted and, not willing to go against his conscience, flees for his life. The physical, mental and spiritual torture that follow age him considerably in a short space of time. Somehow Marcelle's love for him, which outweighs her devotion to the Emperor, gives him sufficient strength to carry on.
In his wanderings, Rohan misses an opportunity to cut the war short.
Finally, Rohan and Napoleon both sit looking out to sea, thousands of miles apart, one slowly rediscovering peace and the other depressed, thinking about what might have been.
A sample chapter of The shadow of the sword is available on this site.
The full text can also be read online or downloaded free of charge. It is in XHTML format, like this page. Please note the file size is 855kb and it may take some time to open-up if you choose to read it online. Downloading for reading later may be the preferred option and this can be typically achieved by calling up an option box. If you have a mouse and it is configured for left click to select, right clicking the link may give you this option. Link to the full text of The shadow of the sword.
Page created 19 November 2002 and last
updated 19 November 2002
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