The General Danced at Dawn (1970) By George MacDonald Fraser

 

George MacDonald Fraser (1925 – 2008) was a rather well known author in the United Kingdom, though I had never even heard of him until receiving The General Danced at Dawn as a gift from a friend recently, with the recommendation “I think you’ll like it.” He was absolutely right.

Fraser was a veteran of the Highland Regiments, having served throughout the British Empire, including India, North African and the Middle East. His prolific writings chronicle life in the armed services. He apparently was/is widely popular in the UK as the author of a series of books known as The Flashman Papers.

Fraser’s character development is just amazing! He’s invented some staples of modern British literary pop culture including: an extremely colorful soldier named Private McAuslan, dubbed “the Dirtiest Soldier in the World;” daft Bob; and their commanding officer Dand MacNeill, who serves as the narrator throughout. And of course, the book wouldn’t be complete without the appearance of Regimental Sergeant-Major Mackintosh, the very archetype of a British military commander, one who could conduct an armed invasion without wrinkling his kilt, then insist on breaking for tea when it was over. His soldiers however, are more likely to favor whiskeys of the Scottish variety, and scoff at that American concoction known as “borboun” – sacrilege indeed.

Much of the narrative is in “the northern dialects,” a.k.a. Scottish-Gaelic, and virtually incomprehensible to anyone who believes in vowels. These tracts often brought my reading speed down to about one syllable per minute. The multiple (varying by clan) dialects play a significant role in these stories, and are completely enjoyable once you stop resisting them, it’s not English per se, not even Old English, get over it, but do read it.

The collection contains 9 short stories. Reading them in sequence is important to the character development. All are good, particularly the title story The General Danced at Dawn. My favorites though are the two concluding stories: Guard at the Castle, when MacNeill has to contend with “the Dirtiest Soldier in the World” while presenting guard at Edinburgh Castle during a visit by “the royals;” and McAuslan’s Court-Martial, a story written around a pillow fight at the Highland Games. 
 
Great Stuff!