The colors of war Military uniforms in Un Estomac d’Autriche

Un Estomac d’Autriche has been described as a “colorful” novel. The extreme precision with which Dumur describes the French and allied uniforms contributes to this impression. We note, however, when consulting the archives of the writer, some remarkable differences in the fictional treatment of military costumes, the literary evocations of the period being sometimes preferred by Dumur over the chronicles or sweeping iconographic narratives, however abundant, that are available to him.