Bibliography

Storyline

In the bitter winter of 1809 the French are winning the war in Spain, and Britain's forces are retreating towards Corunna, with Napoleon's victorious armies in pursuit. Lieutenant Richard and a detachment of Riflemen are cut off from the British army and surrounded by enemy troops. Their only ally, a Spanish cavalry officer, major Blas Vivar.

Unknown to Sharpe, the Spaniard harbours a desperate and quixotic ambition which will lead to a suicidal assault on the holy city of Santiago de Compostela and a savage fight against overwhelming French numbers. Sharpe's determination must be tested to its limit if victory is to be snatched from disaster.

Review

It's taken me a long time to get round to reading this story again, as I seem to remember it very well, however having read the book again, I realise that it is actually the TV series version of this that I remember. The TV story is much more straight forward.

The book is the very first in the series and the one that took Cornwell to fame as an author, and it is hard not to see why. The book is very well written, and introduces us to Sharpe and his chosen men, although it is fair to say that the relationship is somewhat tenuous.

The book is violent, Sharpe not only has a very nasty French opponent to defeat, he also has to take on and beat Harper, in a fight that can only be described as raw, and bloody.

The story has two set battles, and they are well described, the first battle at the start is brief, as the rifles are heavily outnumbered in men, and ahve the difficult task of trying to get to safety, whilst facing cavalry. Unsurprisingly, they don't make it, and the senior officer, gives Sharpe his sword in the hope the men will like Sharpe better.

Sharpe has a brief affair of the heart, which he doesn't win on this occasion, but it does provide some light relief from the background to this story.

So an really good first story, to get the series off and running, Sharpe and Harper have a monumental number of miles to March, before the end, at Waterloo.

Previous	Index	Next