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Warhorses of Letters
Price: £12.00
These powerfully moving letters were exchanged between two of the most significant warhorses in history: the dignified Marengo, devoted bearer of Napoleon; and the dashing Copenhagen, a slightly flighty racehorse who became the warhorse of the Duke of Wellington.
Originally made public by the highly acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series starring Stephen Fry, Daniel Rigby and Tamasin Greig, this correspondence has melted the hearts of many, and surprised a great many more.
Now the maverick academics who painstakingly tracked down each yellowing, crumbling cache of letters, have arranged and edited them into book form, adding a wealth of learned hoofnotes full of fascinating factual facts that will deepen the reader's understanding both of Napoleonic history and that sadly neglected branch of academe horsethropology.
Some readers may think they notice lots of facts that are less factual, often much less factual. To those readers, we offer the wise words of Marengo himself:
"Open your minds, open your hearts, you have nothing to lose but your reins."
Reviews
reviewed by Bridgitte Shad October 17, 2012 20:04
This book was a triumph on the radio, it made me laugh out loud even though it dealt with tricky subjects, not just homosexual horses....who'd have thought? But also the really terrible reality of war and lovers separated by distance and loyalty to their masters. I laughed and cried and can't wait to read more...
The Video
The Pitch
Marie:
These letters we're publishing - they were really written from Wellington's warhorse to Napoleon's warhorse and vice versa? Really?
Robbie:
They really were. I'm an actual, proper, highly-qualified historian. If I say something is kosher, then it's kosher. I put the full weight of my academic reputation behind this project. Being a historian is like being one of those guys on CSI. We know stuff. There are some things you literally cannot fake.
Marie:
That's what I thought.
Robbie:
You were right. But having collected the letters together, and having had them faithfully dramatised by Radio 4's comedy department, why are we getting them published as well?
Marie:
Well, as you well know, it's not just that we found the letters, there was all that other material.
Robbie:
I don't well know. What other material?
Marie:
All those extra letters, the ones from Marengo to his hygienist and the horse he plays chess with? The notes between Copenhagen and the annoying dog he has to share a stall with? And what about all the hardcore archival work we did fleshing out the details of the story? We're going to annotate the letters with a series of incredibly informative hoofnotes.
Robbie:
Oh, that. Yes, I do remember now.
Marie:
And do you remember that we promised Unbound that if listeners have any questions, they can ask them by emailing warhorses@unbound.co.uk?
Robbie:
Yes, vaguely.
Marie:
And that if we answer a question in a published hoofnote, then we will raise the asker FOR FREE to the next level?
Robbie:
I remember something about that, but not in as much detail as you seem to remember it. Does that mean we'd give someone a free ebook if they hadn't pledged at all?
Marie:
Only if we answered their question, and I bet we wouldn't answer a non-pledger. We can be quite vindictive, remember.
Robbie:
Yes, I remember. Are you really going to make me go pony-trekking?
Marie:
Only if we get the pledges.
Robbie:
Please don't pledge.
Marie:
Pledge.
The Excerpt
Dear Marengo brackets Napoleon's horse close brackets,
The Author
Marie Phillips is the author of Gods Behaving Badly, which has just been filmed and stars Sharon Stone and Christopher Walken. She hosts literary events including, with Scott Pack, the Firestation Book Swap in Windsor and is Writer in residence at Ackland Burghley school, London, with the organisation First Story.
Robert Hudson wrote the novel The Kilburn Social Club, and various musicals including, with Jeremy Sams, Damsel in Distress, which was commissioned by the Gershwin and Wodehouse estates and is due for production in Chichester next year. He hosts the comedy night Tall Tales and the spin-off podcast Listen & Often.
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