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Sharpe #3,5,7-12
Sharpe's War Collection 8 Book Set
- GenresHistorical Fiction
ebook
First published October 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Bernard Cornwell
537 books19.3k followersCornwell was born in London in 1944. His father was a Canadian airman, and his mother, who was English, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted and brought up in Essex by the Wiggins family, who were members of the Peculiar People, a strict Protestant sect who banned frivolity of all kinds and even medicine. After he left them, he changed his name to his birth mother's maiden name, Cornwell.
Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked as a teacher. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia.
He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News. He relocated to the United States in 1980 after marrying an American. Unable to get a green card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit.
As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C.S. Forester, chronicling the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars, and was surprised to find there were no such novels following Lord Wellington's campaign on land. Motivated by the need to support himself in the U.S. through writing, Cornwell decided to write such a series. He named his chief protagonist Richard Sharpe, a rifleman involved in most major battles of the Peninsular War.
Cornwell wanted to start the series with the Siege of Badajoz but decided instead to start with a couple of "warm-up" novels. These were Sharpe's Eagle and Sharpe's Gold, both published in 1981. Sharpe's Eagle was picked up by a publisher, and Cornwell got a three-book deal. He went on to tell the story of Badajoz in his third Sharpe novel, Sharpe's Company, published in 1982.
Cornwell and wife Judy co-wrote a series of novels, published under the pseudonym "Susannah Kells". These were A Crowning Mercy, published in 1983, Fallen Angels in 1984, and Coat of Arms (aka The Aristocrats) in 1986. (Cornwell's strict Protestant upbringing informed the background of A Crowning Mercy, which took place during the English Civil War.) In 1987, he also published Redcoat, an American Revolutionary War novel set in Philadelphia during its 1777 occupation by the British.
After publishing eight books in his ongoing Sharpe series, Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in adapting them for television. The producers asked him to write a prequel to give them a starting point to the series. They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe’s Rifles, published in 1987, and a series of Sharpe television films staring Sean Bean.
A series of contemporary thrillers with sailing as a background and common themes followed: Wildtrack published in 1988, Sea Lord (aka Killer's Wake) in 1989, Crackdown in 1990, Stormchild in 1991, and Scoundrel, a political thriller, in 1992.
In June 2006, Cornwell was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours List.
Cornwell's latest work, Azincourt, was released in the UK in October 2008. The protagonist is an archer who participates in the Battle of Agincourt, another devastating defeat suffered by the French in the Hundred Years War. However, Cornwell has stated that it will not be about Thomas of Hookton from The Grail Quest or any of his relatives.
Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked as a teacher. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia.
He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News. He relocated to the United States in 1980 after marrying an American. Unable to get a green card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit.
As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C.S. Forester, chronicling the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars, and was surprised to find there were no such novels following Lord Wellington's campaign on land. Motivated by the need to support himself in the U.S. through writing, Cornwell decided to write such a series. He named his chief protagonist Richard Sharpe, a rifleman involved in most major battles of the Peninsular War.
Cornwell wanted to start the series with the Siege of Badajoz but decided instead to start with a couple of "warm-up" novels. These were Sharpe's Eagle and Sharpe's Gold, both published in 1981. Sharpe's Eagle was picked up by a publisher, and Cornwell got a three-book deal. He went on to tell the story of Badajoz in his third Sharpe novel, Sharpe's Company, published in 1982.
Cornwell and wife Judy co-wrote a series of novels, published under the pseudonym "Susannah Kells". These were A Crowning Mercy, published in 1983, Fallen Angels in 1984, and Coat of Arms (aka The Aristocrats) in 1986. (Cornwell's strict Protestant upbringing informed the background of A Crowning Mercy, which took place during the English Civil War.) In 1987, he also published Redcoat, an American Revolutionary War novel set in Philadelphia during its 1777 occupation by the British.
After publishing eight books in his ongoing Sharpe series, Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in adapting them for television. The producers asked him to write a prequel to give them a starting point to the series. They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe’s Rifles, published in 1987, and a series of Sharpe television films staring Sean Bean.
A series of contemporary thrillers with sailing as a background and common themes followed: Wildtrack published in 1988, Sea Lord (aka Killer's Wake) in 1989, Crackdown in 1990, Stormchild in 1991, and Scoundrel, a political thriller, in 1992.
In June 2006, Cornwell was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours List.
Cornwell's latest work, Azincourt, was released in the UK in October 2008. The protagonist is an archer who participates in the Battle of Agincourt, another devastating defeat suffered by the French in the Hundred Years War. However, Cornwell has stated that it will not be about Thomas of Hookton from The Grail Quest or any of his relatives.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 29, 2015
Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (New York: HarperCollins, 1998). Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
Midway through reading Sharpe’s Tiger, the first volume (chronologically) in Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series, I hurriedly ordered the second volume for two-day delivery from Amazon. I am a series reader, and this clearly is a series to be read. It follows the exploits of Richard Sharpe, a soldier in the British Army, during the era of the Napoleonic Wars.
Sharpe’s Tiger was set in India in 1799 and focused on the siege of Seringapatam in the spring of 1799. Sharpe’s Triumph picks up the story four years later as the British Army under Gen. Arthur Wellesley—after Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington—fights against the numerically superior Mahratta Horde at Ahmednuggur and then Assaye. (I’m using Cornwell’s terms and spellings. Wikipedia prefers Maratha, Maratha Empire or Maratha Confederacy, and Ahmednagar, in case you want to look them up.)
Cornwell doesn’t paper over the greedy motives and savage conduct of the British or other Europeans as they fought for control of the Indian subcontinent. He doesn’t valorize their enemies either, however. What he does is present the conflict from a British soldier’s point of view, showing his courage under fire.
And what courage it was! Cornwell’s description of the British escalade at Ahmednuggur, in which Lt. Colin Campbell of the Scottish 78th Regiment mounted a ladder three times to scale the fortress wall—a true story, by the way—astonishes the reader as much as it astonished Campbell’s contemporaries. (Campbell received a battlefield promotion to colonel, and in later years he was knighted and served as governor of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka.)
But Cornwell’s description of the British assault at Assaye, in which the 78th calmly marched in formation under enemy fire, took a beating, but still went on to crush the Mahratta right flank, is even more astounding. Sometime after his victory at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington was asked which was his finest battle. He answered: “Assaye.” When you read this book—which is, remember, a work of historical fiction—you’ll nonetheless understand why.
_____
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
Midway through reading Sharpe’s Tiger, the first volume (chronologically) in Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series, I hurriedly ordered the second volume for two-day delivery from Amazon. I am a series reader, and this clearly is a series to be read. It follows the exploits of Richard Sharpe, a soldier in the British Army, during the era of the Napoleonic Wars.
Sharpe’s Tiger was set in India in 1799 and focused on the siege of Seringapatam in the spring of 1799. Sharpe’s Triumph picks up the story four years later as the British Army under Gen. Arthur Wellesley—after Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington—fights against the numerically superior Mahratta Horde at Ahmednuggur and then Assaye. (I’m using Cornwell’s terms and spellings. Wikipedia prefers Maratha, Maratha Empire or Maratha Confederacy, and Ahmednagar, in case you want to look them up.)
Cornwell doesn’t paper over the greedy motives and savage conduct of the British or other Europeans as they fought for control of the Indian subcontinent. He doesn’t valorize their enemies either, however. What he does is present the conflict from a British soldier’s point of view, showing his courage under fire.
And what courage it was! Cornwell’s description of the British escalade at Ahmednuggur, in which Lt. Colin Campbell of the Scottish 78th Regiment mounted a ladder three times to scale the fortress wall—a true story, by the way—astonishes the reader as much as it astonished Campbell’s contemporaries. (Campbell received a battlefield promotion to colonel, and in later years he was knighted and served as governor of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka.)
But Cornwell’s description of the British assault at Assaye, in which the 78th calmly marched in formation under enemy fire, took a beating, but still went on to crush the Mahratta right flank, is even more astounding. Sometime after his victory at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington was asked which was his finest battle. He answered: “Assaye.” When you read this book—which is, remember, a work of historical fiction—you’ll nonetheless understand why.
_____
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
February 5, 2013
All the Sharpe books are written to a formula. Pick a battle/period of the Duke of Wellington's career, insert Sharpe into it through some arbitrary twist of fate, add a protagonist (typically a member of the British military aristocracy who resents Sharpe's elevation above his station in Georgian society), a love interest (who will either die before the end of this book or somehow be written out by the next one) and press 'play' on the battle. And they are no less brilliant for it.
Sharpe truly is the James Bond of the early 19thC. He always wins the fight, gets the girl(s) and either humiliates or just plain old murders those who get in his way. That said, the books are well written, and Cornwell manages to maintain the tension in his writing, despite the seeming plot invulnerability afforded Sharpe and his band of loveable misfits (with one or two notable exceptions). He does this really through focussing on the battles and the fortunes of minor characters, both historical and fictional. The battles obviously went both ways and the historical characters lived or died in them, so there is plenty of tragedy, heroism and pathos to play with without having to threaten Sharpe himself.
This is the real value of these books, a history lesson (both into the military and the society and living conditions of the era) wrapped up in a pulpy page turner adventure. Cornwell also writes an amazing battle scene, and paces the books brilliantly so you never feel bored... though every book you can be sure he will linger lovingly for at least one page on the minutiae of how to load and fire a Baker Rifle.
Sharpe truly is the James Bond of the early 19thC. He always wins the fight, gets the girl(s) and either humiliates or just plain old murders those who get in his way. That said, the books are well written, and Cornwell manages to maintain the tension in his writing, despite the seeming plot invulnerability afforded Sharpe and his band of loveable misfits (with one or two notable exceptions). He does this really through focussing on the battles and the fortunes of minor characters, both historical and fictional. The battles obviously went both ways and the historical characters lived or died in them, so there is plenty of tragedy, heroism and pathos to play with without having to threaten Sharpe himself.
This is the real value of these books, a history lesson (both into the military and the society and living conditions of the era) wrapped up in a pulpy page turner adventure. Cornwell also writes an amazing battle scene, and paces the books brilliantly so you never feel bored... though every book you can be sure he will linger lovingly for at least one page on the minutiae of how to load and fire a Baker Rifle.
February 5, 2013
All the Sharpe books are written to a formula. Pick a battle/period of the Duke of Wellington's career, insert Sharpe into it through some arbitrary twist of fate, add a protagonist (typically a member of the British military aristocracy who resents Sharpe's elevation above his station in Georgian society), a love interest (who will either die before the end of this book or somehow be written out by the next one) and press 'play' on the battle. And they are no less brilliant for it.
Sharpe truly is the James Bond of the early 19thC. He always wins the fight, gets the girl(s) and either humiliates or just plain old murders those who get in his way. That said, the books are well written, and Cornwell manages to maintain the tension in his writing, despite the seeming plot invulnerability afforded Sharpe and his band of loveable misfits (with one or two notable exceptions). He does this really through focussing on the battles and the fortunes of minor characters, both historical and fictional. The battles obviously went both ways and the historical characters lived or died in them, so there is plenty of tragedy, heroism and pathos to play with without having to threaten Sharpe himself.
This is the real value of these books, a history lesson (both into the military and the society and living conditions of the era) wrapped up in a pulpy page turner adventure. Cornwell also writes an amazing battle scene, and paces the books brilliantly so you never feel bored... though every book you can be sure he will linger lovingly for at least one page on the minutiae of how to load and fire a Baker Rifle.
Sharpe truly is the James Bond of the early 19thC. He always wins the fight, gets the girl(s) and either humiliates or just plain old murders those who get in his way. That said, the books are well written, and Cornwell manages to maintain the tension in his writing, despite the seeming plot invulnerability afforded Sharpe and his band of loveable misfits (with one or two notable exceptions). He does this really through focussing on the battles and the fortunes of minor characters, both historical and fictional. The battles obviously went both ways and the historical characters lived or died in them, so there is plenty of tragedy, heroism and pathos to play with without having to threaten Sharpe himself.
This is the real value of these books, a history lesson (both into the military and the society and living conditions of the era) wrapped up in a pulpy page turner adventure. Cornwell also writes an amazing battle scene, and paces the books brilliantly so you never feel bored... though every book you can be sure he will linger lovingly for at least one page on the minutiae of how to load and fire a Baker Rifle.
July 30, 2011
Always compelling period pieces; learned a great deal from these books. I was surprised the series was able to keep me interested all the way through.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews