The Conscript

At a watchmaker's bench in Phalsbourg, young Joseph Bertha watches Napoleon's military world pass his window. Princes, generals and supply wagons bring business to the inn across the street, while local families wait anxiously for letters from their sons. Joseph works under Melchior Goulden and hopes to marry Catharine of Quatre-Vents. His fear of conscription gives the bustle outside a personal urgency, as each new campaign threatens the life he hopes to build.

Erckmann-Chatrian follows this apprentice into the French war of 1813, telling the story through Joseph's own account. In the battlefield scenes, a sergeant's talk of decorations meets the young soldier's dread as enemy columns approach and artillery opens fire. The novel sets public enthusiasm for military glory beside the worries of workers, parents and ordinary recruits. Readers interested in historical fiction can find a close view of how imperial ambition reaches into a small town and reshapes an individual life.