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  • in reply to: John Franklin's Quatre Bras OOB #26730
    Avatar photoJohn Franklin
    Participant

    Hi Sparker,

    Thanks for your message (which has flashed up on my iPhone – first time for everything!).

     

    Please note, I never described Kevin Kiley’s review as outrageous. If you revisit the thread you will see the comment was made by Londongamer. Kevin, or anyone else for that matter, is entitled to review any book the way they see fit. I do not deny anyone the chance to review my books, indeed, you will note from various threads on TMP that I have encouraged people to do this. Osprey were unhappy that two individuals posted negative comments on every single positive review, and were responsible for ‘marking down’ positive reviews. I can add nothing to this.

    With regards to the presence of the French Dragons, you will see in due course that the evidence for their being at Quatre Bras is overwhelming. You are entitled to believe what you will based on the evidence, of course.

    I’m pleased you enjoyed the various books. The Guards book you referred to is being released as a much more detailed book about ‘The Struggle for Hougoumont’. It will be published by Fonthill Media on the 29th October. May I add that this is much more than a book of British Foot Guards accounts, but includes new material from the French and German archives. I hope that it will be of interest (as Dr. Tony Pollard and the Channel 5 TV crew are using it for guidance in the making of the ‘Waterloo Uncovered’ programme).

    Kind regards

     

    John

     

     

     

     

    in reply to: John Franklin's Quatre Bras OOB #26688
    Avatar photoJohn Franklin
    Participant

    P.P.S. I think there are a few brand new (sealed) copies of Hanoverian and Netherlands Correspondence left in the warehouse (certainly less than ten of each). So if someone wants a copy for £10 plus p&p, just let me know.

    in reply to: John Franklin's Quatre Bras OOB #26687
    Avatar photoJohn Franklin
    Participant

    Hello everyone,

     

    I am not intending to participate on an on-going basis, but I was told earlier today about this forum, and the fact that I’ve been mentioned in relation to the Quatre Bras OOB, and I thought it would be appropriate to clarify several points. This is merely intended to outline some of the issues authors (and indeed illustrators) face in today’s publishing world.

    I should also like to add that I do not know Kevin Kiley or John Walsh. I do know David Hollins, who many of you are aware of, particularly as he had a online argument with the same Kevin Kiley, and subsequently found that each of his books were poorly reviewed by several parties (not bothering to mention their names again). David is a proper historian who has unearthed a number of interesting items, and can speak German fluently and has an excellent knowledge of French. For those of you who are not aware, I live in Switzerland and speak German, Swiss German and French on a daily basis. Being located in central Europe has also allowed me to travel to almost all of the major archival institutions across the continent, and I have an extensive network of contacts (some of whom I work and agree with, others I work with but generally disagree with).

    I have been collecting material since 1992, and have a large personal collection of original letters and reports, books, periodicals, etc., in many languages. I have also amassed a huge collection of copies from the various museums I have visited. Over 9,000 items at the last count. Some of this material has now been published (about thirty percent), in English – based on my translations of the original documents. The majority, especially those on the French and Prussians, have not been published. This has been a deliberate ploy on my part.

     

    As you are aware, I was commissioned to write several books for Osprey. Please note that I did not say a trilogy of Waterloo 1815. More books will follow (but I cannot say more at this stage). At present, the three books which Osprey commissioned for release by the bi-centenary in June 1815, cover events until the morning of the 19th June. Of course, there’s a great deal more in the campaign to be covered. Indeed, there’s a great deal that needs to be covered which was omitted from the first three books due to the limitations of space. The OOBs, details of losses, etc., etc., were all editorial decisions which were imposed upon the content I supplied to Osprey, due to the limitations of the 96 page format. I can assure you that the ‘Complete’ book, when it is released, will be far more interesting for those students of the campaign. (I hope this answers the questions as to why Osprey can ask me to remove posts from Napoleonic platforms, and in effect, own the rights to certain work I had written for them.)

    One of the many issues I raised with Osprey when the format of the ‘first three’ books was being discussed with the editor was the material which I could not include, such as notes, references, etc. Osprey agreed to allow me to produce four articles with each of the first three books, and for these to provide an insight into the level research undertaken. Four articles (one on the Brunswickers, Nassau-Usingen, Dutch and Belgians, and the French) appeared to coincide with the release of the first book on Quatre Bras. Most of the information in these will have been new to many readers. The articles on the French and Prussians, to coincide with the release of the Ligny book, were cancelled by Osprey, as they were afraid the ‘official’ Waterloo book by Nik Lipscombe was not receiving enough coverage. No problem. Four additional articles have been prepared for the release of the latest book. These cover the production I was involved with, entitled: The Scots at Waterloo (the one hour programme was broadcast on BBC 2 Scotland and is on the BBC iPlayer currently for those in the UK who want to watch it); there are other articles on the Hanoverians, The Prussians, and the French. The latter includes some interesting ‘new’ (unpublished) material on the attack by the Imperial Guard. Emily Haggerty, of the marketing team, will publish these on the Osprey Blog, and no doubt links will be posted elsewhere.

    The content of the first book drew criticism, and a couple of poor reviews. The reviews by Kevin Kiley and John Walsh were posted by these individuals on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. They also made negative comments about the book on ‘every single’ post on Amazon in the UK and US. As the editor at Osprey pointed out, it was clearly a smear campaign. It is my understanding that one of these individuals had applied to have a book published by Osprey, but they were declined. When the initial post was made, I, foolishly, responded in an attempt to answer some of the points raised. I realise that there is no pint discussing issues with certain individuals, and have been told in no uncertain terms by Osprey that I am not to do this, as this is Osprey policy. (I didn’t actually read the small print in the contract when I signed it.) The comments have continued on various other platforms.

    Now, forgetting the editorial decisions which reduced the content due to the limitations of space, and the formula of the Osprey campaign series, which an author has to comply with – all clearly outlined in the original Author’s Notes – the main issue arising is the role of the 2e and 7e Dragoons at Quatre Bras. Where they present?

    Some of you have read the material I have published thus far. The content is derived from many previously unpublished sources. The Brunswick post I made on TMP gave an indication that these troops thought they were engaged with Dragoons. Well, they were. I have two lengthy accounts written by men from the ranks who describe the role of the 2e Dragons at Quatre Bras. There are four other short accounts which expand briefly on this (sorry, I don’t have anything from the 7e Dragons, although these troops are mentioned). These accounts were introduced to my by a fellow author. He has undertaken a considerable amount of research in France (we have exchanged a lot of material to our mutual benefit) , and was due to have a book published on Waterloo in April of this year. The release has gone back to October. The agreement we reached was that I would publish the content once his book came out. His publisher, who is a personal friend, has upheld this. I am therefore restricted from publishing these accounts.

    Let me say that there is no doubt that the 2e and 7e Dragons were engaged at Quatre Bras. One of the accounts corroborates the attack on the Brunswickers perfectly, which is why I published the former. More importantly, I stumbled across some of the returns of the wounded men and horses of these – and other regiments – when at Vincennes. The documents had been misfiled among the records of the Imperial Guard. The 2e Dragons sustained twenty-six rank and file wounded. They also lost double this number in horses. (*Those who wish to go to the Archive Nationale de France, search through LH570 and transcribe the accounts are freely at liberty to do so, as I have mentioned before.)

     

    Later in 2015, and early in 2016, there will be a number of books released which will contain material ideally suited to compliment the Osprey books. These will be very cheap, and can be downloaded via Amazon as part of a new initiative. The unpublished French and Prussian material will be among this. The books are not based on English language secondary sources, but new archival research and some material from my private collection (mainly British and Hanoverian). Until this time, I suggest a more open mind to the possibility to the involvement of the French Dragons at Quatre Bras, and less certainty based on the aforementioned secondary English language sources.

    Kind regards

     

    John Franklin (currently enjoying the hospitality of Nottingham, England)

     

     

    *The files of the Legion d’Honneur are massive, and hold the records of every Frenchman – and foreigner – who applied for a pension, having received the prestigious award. The vast majority of men submitted an account of their service when they applied for a pension. Some of these accounts are lengthy and contain wonderful material which has never been published. The majority are very simple of course, with a list. Two friends of mine have been working through these accounts for a number of years and have produced incredible new evidence on Waterloo. Some of this has been incorporated into my Osprey books, such as the Dragons and the attack of the Imperial Guard, while more will be in the book I’ve written for Fonthill Media on the ‘Struggle for Hougoumont’. I sincerely hope that it is greeted with a positive response.

     

     

     

     

     

     

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)