Juana

An Italian and Spanish love triangle with Napoleon's army on the march as the backdrop, 'Juana' is an all-action story about two morally corrupt Italian soldiers in the French army in Spain.

They lurk at the rear of the army and descend upon the women and the wealth of defeated towns. As they enter Tarragona, Montefiore spots the lovely Juana and sets about seducing her by inveigling himself with her family.

They fall for each other, but Montefiore gets caught in a lie and Juana ends their affair. Then, in a fit of pique, she marries his friend, the other Italian soldier, Diard.

It is a decision that sparks a pulsating plot featuring cruelty, a disintegrating marriage, gambling, murder, deception, and a dishonest doctor.

'Juana' is ideal for those who enjoy Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' stories, which were made into a TV series, starring Sean Bean.

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist and playwright, most famous for a sequence of novels, collectively called 'The Human Comedy'. His signature style was a warts-and-all representation of post-Napoleonic French life, rich in detail and featuring complex, unfiltered characters.

The style means Balzac is regarded as one of the pioneers of European literary realism. He is named as an influence on writers including Emile Zola, Henry James, Charles Dickens, and Gustave Flaubert.

The first novel he published under his own name was 'Les Chouans' in 1829. In 1834 he hit upon the idea of grouping his novels together to record all of society. The result, over a period of years, was 'The Human Comedy', which comprised three categories: 'Analytic Studies'; 'Philosophical Studies'; and 'Studies of Manners'.