The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard
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The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard
Buy Now for £13.25
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Narrated by:
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Rupert Degas
About this listen
With a horse between his thighs and a weapon in his grip, the dashing Brigadier Etienne Gerard, Colonel of the Hussars of Conflans, gallops through the Napoleonic campaigns on secret missions for his beloved Emperor and his country. He encounters danger and hair-breadth escapes but never loses his bravado, his eye for a pretty girl, his boastfulness or his enormous vanity.
Gerard is Conan Doyle’s most lovable character. At times hilarious, at times touching, these stories are amongst Conan Doyle’s most popular.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooksEditor reviews
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may be best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, but they were not his favorites. He loved the stories that promoted the chivalric ethos, even if they sometimes made fun of their heroes, as here. Gerard is a cavalry officer who is devoted to Napoleon and is incapable of seeing the world through any other lens. Rupert Degas is reliably excellent as the ego-inflated officer who fails to see the differences between French and English values, remaining fully confident through what most of us would consider the most embarrassing situations. But Degas never loses touch with the man's innate courage, grace, and devotion to his principles.
What does Rupert Degas bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
RD's narration is superb, really captures the character of the protagonist (and wonderfully covers the Brits too appearing in the stories). The narrator also fleshes out so well the ironies in the writing of these stories and escapades.The Voice of the hero
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Etienne is an endearing buffoon, deluded that he is the greatest swordsman, a dashing lover, a masterful horseman and the toast of the French Army. His exploits allow Conan Doyle to poke harmless fun at both the French and English traditions and stereotypes in equal measure and produces some genuinely hilarious moments in the process. Gerard is doubtless a brave man, but his desire to be chosen for absolutely any dangerous mission seems more driven by vanity and a wish to be seen as brave rather than for the sake of the missions objectives!
He is a 'Pepe Le Pew' character in the romantic department, continually making discreet, gentlemanly 'denials' as to his many conquests, but through ACD's subtle prose, there is no doubt in the readers mind that most of it is wishful thinking or delusional on the part of Gerard.
The narration was brilliant by Rupert Degas who faultlessly pulls of a faux-humble french accent that perfectly depicts Etienne's over-the-top but lovable character.
I will be listening to 'The Exploits of..' with the next available credits!
A French Flashman - Classic!
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An amazing performance of a disappointing book
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