By Bernard Cornwell
5 Stars
Historical Fiction
Adult
I was introduced to Richard Sharpe and his right-hand man, Harper, through YouTube clips. I've never actually watched an entire episode of the show. My daughter was at a used bookstore and got me a couple of these novels because she thought I'd probably enjoy them. I read this one not expecting to like it as much as I did. Because there are 22 novels in the series at this point, I was expecting it to strike me as a little bit formulaic. I thought the book was excellent. I wasn't disappointed with any of it.
The novel is built around the Bussaco Campaign of 1810. French General Massena objective was Lisbon, hoping to kick the British clear out of Portugal. Wellington is retreating, scorched earth to a defensive line he had built north of the city. In following those orders, Richard Sharpe clashes with Ferragus, who is the main villain of the book. Ferragus and his brother think that the French are going to win, and they are betraying the British and French by trying to sell a massive quantity of food to the French. They believe that by doing this, they will save their family's wealth for the future. Sharpe and his troops stumble across the initial goodwill shipment and destroy it, earning the villains' eternal hatred. Their personal feud plays out against the backdrop of the British victory at Bussaco, where the French advance is temporarily checked, then the sacking of Coimbra, and finally a major skirmish in front of Wellington's defensive works.
What I liked about the book was the superb descriptions of the battles first, and the pacing and flow of the story. It is believably well written. Sharpe is maybe a bit more of a rogue than I was expecting from the clips online I'd viewed. This is a book I highly recommend. I do have another in the series in my home library and I'm looking forward to reading it as well in the not-too-distant future.
No comments:
Post a Comment