Sharpe's Trafalgar: The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October, 1805: 4 - Softcover

Cornwell, Bernard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061098620 ISBN 13: 9780061098628

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, now available in paperback--bestselling historical novelist Bernard Cornwell brings life to one of the most spectacular naval battles in history with SHARPE'S TRAFALGAR.

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today."
--Washington Post

Critically acclaimed, perennial New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell (Agincourt, The Fort, the Saxon Tales) makes real history come alive in his breathtaking historical fiction. Praised as "the direct heir to Patrick O'Brian" (Agincourt, The Fort), Cornwell has brilliantly captured the fury, chaos, and excitement of battle as few writers have ever done--perhaps most vividly in his phenomenally popular novels following the illustrious military career of British Army officer Richard Sharpe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Chronicling Sharpe's involvement in the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Sharpe's Trafalgar finds the young ensign captive on a French warship and in gravest peril on the eve of the one of the most spectacular naval confrontations in history. Perhaps the San Francisco Chronicle said it best: "If only all history lessons could be as vibrant."

About this title

Review:

Ensign Richard Sharpe is back in Sharpe's Trafalgar, the 17th in Bernard Cornwell's remarkable series of Sharpe novels. Sharpe is at the thick of things again, but this time not on the battlefield, but on the high seas.

The year is 1805 and Sharpe is stuck in Bombay, waiting passage back to England on the Calliope. He soon discovers that his fellow passengers include the aged, patrician Lord William Hale and his "breathtakingly, achingly, untouchably beautiful" young wife, Lady Grace. The scene is set for a romantic but eventful passage, which becomes even more entangled as the Calliope is surprised by the rogue French warship the Revenant. The ensuing maritime adventures sail Sharpe right into one of the most momentous naval battles of all time, off Cape Trafalgar, on the 21st of October 1805, as the massed fleets of Spain and France face the might of Admiral Horatio Nelson's English navy.

Sharpe's Trafalgar is one of Cornwell's most ambitious Sharpe novels to date. Filled with the Cornwell trademarks of heroism, graphic violence, romance and vivid evocation of the period, its portrayal of Sharpe at sea is convincingly done and Sharpe's encounter with Nelson himself, alongside his previous encounters with historical figures such a sWellington, is particularly effective--the frail Admiral characterised as asking "nothing from life except to be seated with his good friends Chase, Blackwood and Richard Sharpe". Sharpe's Trafalgar finds Bernard Cornwell on top form; Sharpe fans will not be disappointed. --Jerry Brotton

Review:

"One of today's truly great storytellers."--Kirkus Reviews

"The direct heir to Patrick O'Brian."--The Economist

"Fun page-turners that fan clubs all over the world are devoted to."--Wall Street Journal

"Excellently entertaining. If you love historical drama . . . then look no further."--Boston Globe

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0061098620
• ISBN 13: 9780061098628
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320