The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars - Paperback

by Nadezhda Durova (Author)

" . . . sparkles with wit, intelligence and bold characterization." --Women's Review of Books

" . . . a ripping yarn . . . admirable translation . . . sensitive introductory essay." --Times Literary Supplement

" . . . a remarkable journal worthy of the attention of a wide audience." --Doris Grumbach, National Public Radio

In male guise, Nadezhda Durova served ten years in the Russian cavalry. The Cavalry Maiden is a lively narrative which appeals in our own time as a unique and gripping contribution to the literature of female experience.

Back Jacket

'I have heard, ' said the tsar...'that you are not a man. Is that true?' In December 1807, Alexander I granted a commission to Nadezhda Durova who, in male guide, served nearly ten years in the Russian light cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. The Cavalry Maiden, a selection of the edited journals of her military service, first published in 1836 with Pushkin's encouragement, is a lively narrative Russian life on and off the battlefield in the Alexandrine era.