Author Self-Published
Featuring: Erich von Schellendorf; Britt; Anna
206 pages ISBN: 1492842427 EAN: 9781492842422 Kindle: B00IEQ23WK Trade Size / e-Book Add to Wish List
Cleverly woven strands tell of a precarious marriage; an
Olympic equestrian team; and the rise of the Third Reich.
We begin the fascinating THE VERSAILLES LEGACY in 1933. The
terms of the punitive Versailles treaty have bankrupted
Germany. Erich von Schellendorf, a cavalry lieutenant
colonel, is a master of horsemanship posted to Konigsberg.
While we see Erich facing uneasy decisions over a request
to pass information abroad on German rearming, it is his
marriage which grabs our sympathy. Britt, a baroness, is of
a nervous disposition and Erich treats her gently on his
home leave, waiting for her to come to his room. The lady
unwisely buys a big black stallion which is too strong for
her. Erich tactfully buys Britt a fine Arab mare
instead, claiming that he needs the spirited stallion for
the national equestrian team. Britt, like many ordinary
people in the depressed nation, believes Herr Hitler when
he says he knows the way to unity and prosperity.
Twelve cavalry officers vie for the Olympic team. Germany
could not afford to send a team to the previous Olympics,
and it intends to win in the Games which it will host in
three years' time. Erich is posted as quartermaster to
Stuttgart, in reality to train the eventing team. He is
introduced to the advantageous forward seat, recently
invented by an Italian rider Federico Caprilli.
Erich's English family connections are used as blackmail.
Fokker planes are being partially assembled in Germany,
then taken to Russia and stored over the border. England
and the League of Nations would like to know the contents
of the papers which cross Erich's desk; meanwhile the Nazi
party is on the march. Erich has strong reservations about
the meteoric rise to power of Hitler but has to stay
silent.
Solid details of horsemanship, like a spade bit being used
on a strong-willed horse, provide interest for riders,
because as Erich's loyalties become confused he throws
himself into his team training. The 1936 cross-country
was "the most difficult in the history of the Summer Games"
when almost half the competitors did not finish the course.
Characters include a prostitute named Anna who is a fourth
cousin to Russian royalty; a British intelligence agent
named Trudell; and the German upper-class, reminiscent
of 'The Remains of The Day'.
I was very impressed by the research which went into this
book and the attention to details of all sorts. However the
adult love story is what gives THE VERSAILLES LEGACY its
heart. Lyn Alexander has written The Schellendorf
Series
of four books about her troubled characters and this is the
second. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the
history of this period, especially horse lovers.
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.
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