The thought of enlisting in the French Foreign Legion held a tantalizing allure for young nineteenth-century American boys in search of adventure. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, James OÆNeill enlisted in the legion in 1887, at the age of twenty-seven. In 1890, deployed to Tonquin in French Indochina (more familiar today as Tonkin, Vietnam), OÆNeill faced tropical heat, infectious disease, and sudden death. Like his contemporary Stephen Crane, OÆNeillÆs ability to recount an engaging story and his keen sense for telling details provide a unique record of his time in this exotic world. In these thirteen ôtales,ö OÆNeill showsùwith surprising subtletyùthat FranceÆs efforts to conquer and govern Indochina were foolhardy. Although the only American in his stories is the narrator, it is clear the tales are aimed at readers in the United States and intended to caution against the construction of empires abroad. Far from polemical tirades, these absorbing, unadorned stories read as remarkably contemporary in both style and substance. Historian Charles Royster provides a short biography of OÆNeill and the text of two long-forgotten essays OÆNeill published in magazines of the time, one a description of a Buddhist temple in Hanoi and the other an appreciation of the Hungarian novelist Maurus J?kai. Whether read for historical value, literary merit, or political insights, Garrison Tales from Tonquin is a true discovery.
- | Author: James OÆNeill
- | Publisher: Lsu Press
- | Publication Date: Mar 01, 2019
- | Number of Pages: 184 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback/History
- | ISBN-10: 0807171751
- | ISBN-13: 9780807171752
