Hello,
I am curious as to the accuracy of Victor Hugo's portrayal of the Battle of Waterloo. I have read several summaries of the battle, and as usual his geographical descriptions are spot on, but Hugo goes into a lot of detail about certain things that I haven't been able to track down (such as the well filled with bodies, details about Napoleon's behaviour, and the like.)
The two events I am most curious about (and can find nothing on) are the charge of cavalry which has 1/3 of them plummet into an unseen ravine, and (although not specifically Waterloo-related) Napoleon, in hiding aboard a French ship, answers the query of another ship about the Emperor (not a very good second hand description, I'll admit, but hopefully those of you who have read the unabridged book know what I'm referring to).