Ouida, Under Two Flags

Talia Schaffer (Queens College, CUNY)
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Under Two Flags

(1867) was a best-selling novel of the late 1860s. The Hon. Bertie Cecil (nicknamed Beauty of the Brigades) is an unflappable dandy with strongly homoerotic ties to his best friend and his servant. To protect others’ honour, Bertie voluntarily exiles himself to Algiera where he joins “Chasseurs d’Afrique”, a regiment comprising soldiers from various countries, rather like the French Foreign Legion. The dangerous conditions of the desert service toughen Bertie. It also gives his servant Rake an acceptably heroic context for his passionate fidelity. Cigarette, a cross-dressing, sexually adventurous, boyish camp follower, falls in love with Bertie. Both Rake and Cigarette die in his arms, and Bertie is finally rewarded by the restoration of his wealth and a properly…

168 words

Citation: Schaffer, Talia. "Under Two Flags". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002; last revised 10 May 2006. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8551, accessed 29 March 2024.]

8551 Under Two Flags 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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