Although this is a fictionalised account of the role played by James Macdonell and the Guards regiments in the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo and of the vital defence of the farm and chateau at Hougoumont, most of the characters in the story existed and much of it is true.
Accounts, even contemporary accounts, of the battles vary. Where I have had to choose, I have chosen that which best suited the narrative. Where there are gaps in the accounts, I have tried to fill them with something plausible. I have also used a little licence where it was necessary to the story.