The Trumpet-Major

"The Trumpet-Major", first published in 1880, is Thomas Hardy's seventh novel - a historical and pastoral romance set in and around the seaside resort of Budmouth (Weymouth) during the Napoleonic Wars.

Our heroine, a graceful and charming young woman, Anne Garland, lives quietly in a rural community deep in the English countryside. However, the arrival of several regiments preparing for an expected invasion brings colour and chaos to the county.
Anne is pursued by three suitors: John Loveday, the trumpet-major in a British regiment, honest and loyal; his brother Robert, a merchant seaman and womaniser, and Festus Derriman, the cowardly son of the local squire.
Set at the time of the Napoleonic wars, this is the author's only historical novel, and unusually for Hardy's books, some of the characters live happily ever after.