Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Charles is from a family with little money. Sebastian's family is wealthy. The two become friends at Oxford. When Sebastian invites his friend to dinner, Charles becomes involved with Sebastian's family. After Charles becomes an officer in the British Army he and his company are moved to an English country house that he realizes is Sebastian's family home. Here he discovers memories of his youth and young manhood, his loves, life, and a journey of...

In the 19th century, the major European powers had gone to great lengths to maintain a balance of power throughout Europe, resulting by 1900 in a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. Beginning in 1815, the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria formalized what had been a strictly familial support network. The House of Habsburg, the House of Hohenzollern, and the House of Romanov had long intermarried,...