Loading ...for some great historical background (and an excellent novel) read FLASHMAN by george macdonald frasier. an account of the british retreat from kabul circa 1840.
besides an entertaining and informative treatment of early victorian english military history, it’s an interesting literary form. technically, it’s a “false document novel.” the author, a knowledgeable military historian purports to be the editor of the memoirs of sir harry flashman, a character he stole from another book, TOM BROWN’S SCHOOL DAYS, where flashman is cast as the villain. a wonderful picaresque novel, dry brit humor, history lesson, and a lampoon of straitlaced victorian morality.