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War, Experience and Memory: An Austrian Cavalry Officer Narrates the Napoleonic Wars

Leighton James Orcid Logo

War Memories: The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in Modern European Culture

Swansea University Author: Leighton James Orcid Logo

Abstract

This book chapter explores the narrative of an Austrian cavalry officer of the Napoleonic Wars. The originality of the piece lies in its comparison between the original hand-written memoir penned in the nineteenth century and the later published version produced in the early twentieth century prior...

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Published in: War Memories: The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in Modern European Culture
Published: Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan 2012
Online Access: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=414038
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14588
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Abstract: This book chapter explores the narrative of an Austrian cavalry officer of the Napoleonic Wars. The originality of the piece lies in its comparison between the original hand-written memoir penned in the nineteenth century and the later published version produced in the early twentieth century prior to the First World War. Adopting the methodological approach of 'thick description' the chapter focuses not only on the representation of Napoleonic warfare in the account, but also how the original version was edited for publication. The author argues that contrary to expectation the published version does not differ substantially from the unpublished version and thus raises questions about the suitability of Napoleonic memoirs as a form of propaganda on the eve of the First World War.
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences