I really enjoyed this book, published in 1868. As the title indicates, it’s about the Tyrolean Rebellion during the Napoleonic Wars, when France defeated Austria and put Tyrol under Bavarian rule. OK, it depicts Hofer as a great hero, and doesn’t go into the issue of his being something of a religious bigot; but he *is* very much venerated as a folk hero in Tyrol.
It depicts the historical events pretty much accurately, but the main character isn’t actually Hofer, but a (presumably fictitious?) young woman called Eliza Wallner. Eliza is a peasant girl who is friends with an aristocratic girl, confusingly called Elsa, whose family have lived in Tyrol for many years but are originally from Bavaria. Both Eliza and Elsa are in love with Elsa’s cousin, a Bavarian soldier – who initially says that, although he loves Eliza, he can’t marry her because of the difference in their social status, but later changes his mind. Eliza knows that his family won’t accept her, and self-sacrificingly arranges for him to marry Elsa. She also saves his life, and carries out all manner of other heroics during the course of the war, and is generally a long way removed from most Victorian heroines!
It really is a very entertaining book, and very easy to read. Recommended!
setinthepast 