At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a generation of French soldiers found themsel
ves haunted by defeat and disappointment. One of these soldiers was Alfred de Vi
gny, an aristocratic poet who also served as a garrison officer. The Warrior's L
ife consists of his enigmatic reflections, autobiographical anecdotes and philos
ophical meditations on the nature of war and the strange life of the soldier, vi
vidly conveying the deprivation and discipline of military service, but also its
comradeship, stoicism and stern code of duty.
