The Trumpet-Major (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

During England’s wars with Napoleon, lovely Anne Garland is pursued by an ardent trio: the cowardly but wealthy Festus Derriman; the wayward sailor Bob Loveday; and Bob’s brother John, trumpet-major in a British regiment. This 1880 novel has the brothers follow Wellington and Nelson into battle and—in a departure for Hardy—concludes with a relatively happy ending.