Black Enamel, Chapters 17-27 Summary

Chapter 17: Tony ponders some still nebulous ideas for her upcoming lecture at the Society of Military Historiographers. Tony wonders how accurate a picture historians can actually conceive. Historians decide what moments in history are important based on their outcomes, and yet at the time they occurred the outcomes were unknown. "For a soldier on the eve of battle, ignorance is the same as hope. Though neither one is bliss." (pg. 109) Tony finds it depressing to know in advance the sorry fate of the losing side. She enjoys reworking battles trying to find new strategies that could have changed the outcomes. It is late at night, and she is in the cellar, in her robe and raccoon slippers. Tony snuck out of bed without waking West, supposedly to work on her speech, but mainly to work on the...