A Class Apart: The Military Man in French and British Fiction, 1740–1789. By Karen Lacey.

Abstract

The military man has long been a popular figure in works of literature; it is the transitional period of the mid-eighteenth century, prior to the tumult of the French Revolution, on which Karen Lacey focuses in this engaging work. The military man is a liminal figure, a civilian who becomes a soldier, and this work is likewise at a crossroads of French studies, military history, and gender theory — and undoubtedly benefits from this interdisciplinary approach. Inspired by Judith Butler’s theory of gender as a performance (reflected in the performative aspects of military masculinity; see Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990)), as well as Benedict Anderson’s views on the rise of nationalism in the eighteenth century (see Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso 1983)), Lacey explores the function of military men in literature, and how wider changes in the military sphere at this time may be seen through these characters. She begins by examining how the changing nature of warfare may be seen through the wearing of the sword: it has lost its military purpose but remains a nostalgic fetish item for the officers, and the weapon of choice for duelling. Chapter 2 focuses on the young professionals in the military, subalterns who are blocked from achieving rank owing to the entrenched nobility, who feel threatened by the rising professionalism of warfare. The experiences of military veterans form the third chapter: Tristram Shandy’s Uncle Toby is the classic example of this, an injured veteran who struggles to leave the war behind. Chapter 4 deals with foreign mercenaries; their lack of attachment to any one nation comes under severe criticism in Rousseau’s Julie, ou La nouvelle Héloïse. The final chapter classifies a new type of man in fiction: the justicier who does not fight for personal honour but to uphold justice. As the title demonstrates, Lacey concludes that during the eighteenth century the military man became a class of his own during the eighteenth century. As the feudal system transformed into the modern world, so the chivalric knight, questing for glory, transforms into the military professional, for whom service to one’s country is reward enough. Others fall from the path, losing their honour and becoming rakes and libertines. The military man is no longer a warrior but a ‘citizen soldier’, serving in a national army. By skilfully weaving together literary theory and historical analysis, Lacey highlights the importance of the military man in British and French fiction. The question of national identity could have been further developed perhaps: there is some reference to Scottish identity in Smollett’s Expedition of Humphry Clinker but little more is made of the English, Irish, and Welsh identities that made up the British Army during this period, or the regional French regiments. This is a minor issue, however. By not weighing the work down with too much specialist terminology from any one discipline Lacey makes it accessible to all — an admirable feat. The clarity, depth, and breadth of the research make this a rewarding read for scholars from a wide range of disciplines and a worthy addition to any collection.