Bertie Cecil, a languid and debt-ridden officer of the Life Guards, takes the blame for a forgery to shield his brother and a woman’s honour. He disappears from London society and enlists as a private in the French army in Algeria, where he endures a vindictive colonel, desert campaigns and the devotion of Cigarette, a fierce camp-follower known across the regiment.
Ouida’s most famous novel, a lavish military romance that was adapted for the stage and screen many times. Download the free EPUB.