St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England

St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson is a late 19th-century novel centered on the experiences of a French soldier, Anne de Keroual de St. Yves, who is captured during the Napoleonic Wars and held as a prisoner in an Edinburgh prison. From the outset, the protagonist looks back on his capture and confinement, observing the routines of incarceration and the characters around him while balancing humor with moments of despair. He manages interactions with English officers and fellow prisoners, striving to preserve a sense of dignity and personal identity despite the humiliation of captivity. His growing infatuation with Flora, a young Englishwoman who visits the prison, adds a romantic thread to his struggle to remain himself in adverse conditions.