About This Book

"Haven't you heard of the duel going on ever since 1801?"

An exciting, swashbuckling thriller based on a true story about two of Napoleon’s soldiers.

Conrad’s brilliantly ironic tale about two officers in Napoleon’s Grand Army who, under a futile pretext, fought an on-going series of duels throughout the Napoleanic Wars. Over decades, on every occasion they chanced to meet, they fought. Both satiric and deeply sad, this masterful tale treats both the futility of war and the absurdity of false honor, war’s necessary accessory.

This Is A Melville House “HybridBook”

HybridBooks are a union of print and electronic media: Purchasers of this print edition also receive Illuminations —additional curated material that expand the world of Conrad's novella through text and illustrations—at no additional charge.

To obtain the Illuminations for The Duel by Joseph Conrad , simply scan the QR code (or follow a url) found at the back of the print book, which leads to a page where you can download a file for your preferred electronic reading device.

"Illuminations" contains writings by Napoleon Bonaparte - Catherine Bearne - Captain Elzear Blaze - Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourienne - Richard Curle - And a historical appreciation of the real life Feraud and d'Hubert

Full-color illustrations include: Jacques-Louis David - Jean-Antoine Gros - Johannes Flintoe - Johann Gottfried Schadow - James Gillroy and others.

Also Included: “The Code Duello: A Diverse Anthology For Personal Use ” which includes in their entirety the French, Irish and American Southern C ode Duellos as well as the Queensbury Rules and a description of the Viking Holmganga .