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The Schellendorf #2
The Versailles Legacy
Second in The Schellendorf Series: After the 'War to End All Wars', the German post-war recovery in 1933 still staggers under the crushing terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Erich von Schellendorf, a career cavalry officer, has two desires in life: that his beloved wife, Britt, can break free from the psychological turmoil that prevents her from living life to the full; and that he can ride on the German equestrian team in the 1936 Olympics. Both dreams seem reasonable, until a British agent named Trudell blackmails Erich into doing a small job for Special Intelligence Services. And a political rabble-rouser named Adolf Hitler seizes absolute control of the German government.
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2013
About the author
Lyn Alexander
5 books13 followersLyn Alexander grew up in Ottawa, Canada during the war years and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force directly out of high school. She later resigned her commission to study veterinary medicine at the University of Guelph, Ontario. She has travelled much of western Europe, the USA, and most of Canada, and speaks three foreign languages badly. In October 2009 she retired from active veterinary practice.
Recently finished a series of 4 historical novels following one German protagonist through two world wars, seeing it from the 'other side'.
Recently finished a series of 4 historical novels following one German protagonist through two world wars, seeing it from the 'other side'.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 27, 2014
Cleverly woven together are the strands of a precarious marriage; an Olympic equestrian team; and the rise of the Third Reich. We begin the fascinating THE VERSAILLES LEGACY in East Prussia in 1933. The terms of the punitive Versailles treaty have bankrupted Germany and everything from homes to pets are being sold by ordinary people. Erich von Schellendorf, a lieutenant colonel, is a master of advanced horsemanship posted to Konigsberg.
While we see Erich with uneasy decisions to make over a request to pass information to the League of Nations, on German rearming, it is his marriage to a slightly disturbed wife which grabs our sympathy. Britt, a baroness, is of a nervous disposition and Erich treats her gently on his leave trips home, waiting for her to come to his room at night. The lady invests unwisely in a big black stallion which is too strong for her. Erich doesn't want to disapprove openly so he buys Britt a fine Arab mare instead, claiming that he needs the spirited stallion for the national equestrian team. Britt, like many people in the depressed nation, believes the words of Herr Hitler when he says he knows the way to unity and prosperity.
Twelve cavalry officers compete for a place on the Olympic team. Germany could not afford to send a team to the previous Olympics, and it intends to win every event possible in the Games which it will host in three years' time. Erich is posted as quartermaster to Stuttgart, in reality to be the trainer of the eventing team. He is introduced to the forward seat, recently invented by an Italian rider Federico Caprilli, and sees its advantages.
Erich's English family connections are used as blackmail to persuade him to provide numbers of tanks and fighter planes. The Fokkers are being partially assembled in Germany, then taken to Russia and stored just over the border. England would like to know the contents of the papers which cross Erich's desk; meanwhile the Nazi party is on the march and anyone who does not respect their Brownshirts is beaten in the street. Erich has strong reservations about the meteoric rise to power of Hitler, and his intentions, but his job obliges him to stay silent.
Solid details of horsemanship, like a spade bit being used on a strong-willed horse, provide plenty to interest riders. As Erich's loyalties become confused he throws himself into his team training. The 1936 brutal cross-country was "the most difficult in the history of the Summer Games" when almost half the competitors did not finish.
A vigorous cast includes a prostitute named Anna who claims to be a fourth cousin to Russian royalty; a British intelligence agent named Trudell; and the well-bred German upper-class, reminiscent of 'The Remains of The Day' which is set during the same period.
I was impressed by the research which went into this book and the attention to detail. However the adult love story behind the politics, history and horses is what gives THE VERSAILLES LEGACY its heart. Lyn Alexander has written a series of four books about her troubled characters and this is the second. Read Erich's full story in 'The Schellendorf Series'.
While we see Erich with uneasy decisions to make over a request to pass information to the League of Nations, on German rearming, it is his marriage to a slightly disturbed wife which grabs our sympathy. Britt, a baroness, is of a nervous disposition and Erich treats her gently on his leave trips home, waiting for her to come to his room at night. The lady invests unwisely in a big black stallion which is too strong for her. Erich doesn't want to disapprove openly so he buys Britt a fine Arab mare instead, claiming that he needs the spirited stallion for the national equestrian team. Britt, like many people in the depressed nation, believes the words of Herr Hitler when he says he knows the way to unity and prosperity.
Twelve cavalry officers compete for a place on the Olympic team. Germany could not afford to send a team to the previous Olympics, and it intends to win every event possible in the Games which it will host in three years' time. Erich is posted as quartermaster to Stuttgart, in reality to be the trainer of the eventing team. He is introduced to the forward seat, recently invented by an Italian rider Federico Caprilli, and sees its advantages.
Erich's English family connections are used as blackmail to persuade him to provide numbers of tanks and fighter planes. The Fokkers are being partially assembled in Germany, then taken to Russia and stored just over the border. England would like to know the contents of the papers which cross Erich's desk; meanwhile the Nazi party is on the march and anyone who does not respect their Brownshirts is beaten in the street. Erich has strong reservations about the meteoric rise to power of Hitler, and his intentions, but his job obliges him to stay silent.
Solid details of horsemanship, like a spade bit being used on a strong-willed horse, provide plenty to interest riders. As Erich's loyalties become confused he throws himself into his team training. The 1936 brutal cross-country was "the most difficult in the history of the Summer Games" when almost half the competitors did not finish.
A vigorous cast includes a prostitute named Anna who claims to be a fourth cousin to Russian royalty; a British intelligence agent named Trudell; and the well-bred German upper-class, reminiscent of 'The Remains of The Day' which is set during the same period.
I was impressed by the research which went into this book and the attention to detail. However the adult love story behind the politics, history and horses is what gives THE VERSAILLES LEGACY its heart. Lyn Alexander has written a series of four books about her troubled characters and this is the second. Read Erich's full story in 'The Schellendorf Series'.
March 5, 2014
This book, the second chronologically in the Schellendorf series, begins about 15 years after The Officer's Code ends. Erich is now a Lieutenant-Colonel. The First World War is long over, but its effects are still being felt, both by Germany as a whole due to the overly-punitive Versailles Treaty and by Erich personally due to the apparently permanent rift in his marriage to Britt.
I found it very different in tone from the first book (The Officer's Code). This one is quieter and slower-moving, more of a character study of Erich. There is no war, but there are obviously plenty of ominous and drastic changes going on in the Germany of the mid-1930's. Erich, Britt and the other characters have different and sometimes surprising reactions to the rise of Hitler.
Erich's day-to-day life is focused on training the German equestrian team for the upcoming Berlin Olympics. He is horrified when he is approached by a British agent who blackmails him into providing information with the threat of exposing the truth of what happened all those years ago with his beloved Britt and the death of her father. He attempts to handle this situation and deal with his increasing army responsibilities while simultaneously trying to make the best of his unsatisfactory personal life.
Erich's complete devotion to the extremely unlikeable, spoiled but beautiful Britt is exasperating and even perplexing at times. They have been married for 20 years, and for the vast majority of that time, not only have they not lived together as a normal married couple would (her decision), she has been indifferent and detached. When he "visits" (an odd word to use for a man going to see his own house and wife, yet she invariably treats him as a mere visitor), he doesn't even expect her to be particularly happy to see him, and lays in bed alone at night after she has firmly shut her bedroom door in his face. He walks on eggshells around her, can't say this, can't do that, is afraid to even reach out and touch her, for fear of triggering one of her "reactions". I find that Erich is harder to understand and sympathize with than in the first book, because most if not all of his unhappiness is the result of his own decisions and actions, especially his tolerance of Britt's appalling behaviour.
I especially liked the postscript to this book, where we learn the fates of several of the real-life characters that have been woven into the story. At the book's end, as usual, I am left wanting more of the story, which continues into World War II with the third book of the series, "The English General".
I found it very different in tone from the first book (The Officer's Code). This one is quieter and slower-moving, more of a character study of Erich. There is no war, but there are obviously plenty of ominous and drastic changes going on in the Germany of the mid-1930's. Erich, Britt and the other characters have different and sometimes surprising reactions to the rise of Hitler.
Erich's day-to-day life is focused on training the German equestrian team for the upcoming Berlin Olympics. He is horrified when he is approached by a British agent who blackmails him into providing information with the threat of exposing the truth of what happened all those years ago with his beloved Britt and the death of her father. He attempts to handle this situation and deal with his increasing army responsibilities while simultaneously trying to make the best of his unsatisfactory personal life.
Erich's complete devotion to the extremely unlikeable, spoiled but beautiful Britt is exasperating and even perplexing at times. They have been married for 20 years, and for the vast majority of that time, not only have they not lived together as a normal married couple would (her decision), she has been indifferent and detached. When he "visits" (an odd word to use for a man going to see his own house and wife, yet she invariably treats him as a mere visitor), he doesn't even expect her to be particularly happy to see him, and lays in bed alone at night after she has firmly shut her bedroom door in his face. He walks on eggshells around her, can't say this, can't do that, is afraid to even reach out and touch her, for fear of triggering one of her "reactions". I find that Erich is harder to understand and sympathize with than in the first book, because most if not all of his unhappiness is the result of his own decisions and actions, especially his tolerance of Britt's appalling behaviour.
I especially liked the postscript to this book, where we learn the fates of several of the real-life characters that have been woven into the story. At the book's end, as usual, I am left wanting more of the story, which continues into World War II with the third book of the series, "The English General".
January 9, 2014
We first met Erich von Schellendorf, née Foster, in 1912 when estrangement from his overbearing father drives him to finish school, not at Cambridge as planned, but at his mother’s ancestral home of Heidelberg. His love for the capricious daughter of a Prussian Baron and retired cavalry officer moves him to enlist in the military for a term that inescapably draws him into the war on the German side. Fast forward to 1933 and we find Lieutenant Colonel von Schellendorf training a military equestrian team for the infamous 1936 Olympics that Hitler so badly wants to support his contention of Aryan supremacy. Erich’s unswerving loyalties to both Germany and his wife are sorely tested by Hitler’s brutal fanaticism and Britt’s unresponsiveness. Erich finds solace in horsemanship and the camaraderie of his team until a British spy and a honey trap threaten to unhinge his entire existence.
Through the lens of retrospection, the Treaty of Versailles could have led to only one outcome. It, in essence, created Hitler and the Nazis. Lyn Alexander’s sequel to The Officers’ Code offers an insightful look into the collective mind of a defeated power via the psyche of an eyewitness. The emotional tension building within Erich von Schellendorf as the Nazis rise and his marriage sinks is shown to us with masterful style. The brilliant character development of Britt, from the damaged victim of incest to a manipulative wife, in deep denial of fratricide, who uses the withholding of affection as a weapon, is as penetrating as any ever created by the likes of Hemingway. Lyn Alexander knows Germany, horses and human emotion and she knows how to bring all that knowledge to the page. The Versailles Legacy is a great sequel and a terrific standalone story.
Through the lens of retrospection, the Treaty of Versailles could have led to only one outcome. It, in essence, created Hitler and the Nazis. Lyn Alexander’s sequel to The Officers’ Code offers an insightful look into the collective mind of a defeated power via the psyche of an eyewitness. The emotional tension building within Erich von Schellendorf as the Nazis rise and his marriage sinks is shown to us with masterful style. The brilliant character development of Britt, from the damaged victim of incest to a manipulative wife, in deep denial of fratricide, who uses the withholding of affection as a weapon, is as penetrating as any ever created by the likes of Hemingway. Lyn Alexander knows Germany, horses and human emotion and she knows how to bring all that knowledge to the page. The Versailles Legacy is a great sequel and a terrific standalone story.
June 2, 2014
The Versailles Legacy by Lyn Alexander is an excellent historical fiction. If you like getting into a book and feeling a part of the story you will love this novel.
I loved the way the author continued to develop the storyline she had started in the first book, The Officer's Code. Germany has suffered through the post WW I years and Hitler is beginning to reunite the patriotic feeling in the German people. The story does an excellent job of following this theme through the lead characters and their emotional turmoil from all the changes they must face. With the author's writing style you will believe you are there.
Lyn Alexander has done a great job of continuing to develop her main characters. The hero continues to grow stronger even as he faces all the changes of this period of history. I really got into the characters as the author so vividly described them.
I really liked The Versailles Legacy by Lyn Alexander and I highly recommend this book and series.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
I loved the way the author continued to develop the storyline she had started in the first book, The Officer's Code. Germany has suffered through the post WW I years and Hitler is beginning to reunite the patriotic feeling in the German people. The story does an excellent job of following this theme through the lead characters and their emotional turmoil from all the changes they must face. With the author's writing style you will believe you are there.
Lyn Alexander has done a great job of continuing to develop her main characters. The hero continues to grow stronger even as he faces all the changes of this period of history. I really got into the characters as the author so vividly described them.
I really liked The Versailles Legacy by Lyn Alexander and I highly recommend this book and series.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
September 30, 2014
I was blown away by the first book in this series, The Officer's Code, and looked forward to the sequel eagerly. I was not disappointed. Alexander carries over all the first book's strengths into another compelling character-driven story grounded in meticulous historical detail.
A glimpse inside the emerging Nazi regime isn't something we find too often and certainly never so well executed. Alexander explores the interwar years, including the Berlin Olympics and Hitler's rise to power via his almost mesmerizing grip over his war-ragged people.
But the real story is always English emigre Erich and his struggles with his PTSD-ridden wife, with whom he slowly grows more and more estranged. Throw in some smarmy SIS agents, and the whole thing gallops along - but without ever endangering its lyric and ultimately tragic beauty.
A glimpse inside the emerging Nazi regime isn't something we find too often and certainly never so well executed. Alexander explores the interwar years, including the Berlin Olympics and Hitler's rise to power via his almost mesmerizing grip over his war-ragged people.
But the real story is always English emigre Erich and his struggles with his PTSD-ridden wife, with whom he slowly grows more and more estranged. Throw in some smarmy SIS agents, and the whole thing gallops along - but without ever endangering its lyric and ultimately tragic beauty.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews