Sharpe's Escape: The Bussaco Campaign, 1810 - Softcover

Cornwell, Bernard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060561556 ISBN 13: 9780060561550

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2006

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the tenth installment in the world-renowned Sharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, a Private in His Majesty's Army at the siege of Seringapatam.

Sharpe's job as Captain of the Light Company is under threat and he has made a new enemy, a Portuguese criminal known as Ferragus. Discarded by his regiment, Sharpe wages a private war against Ferragus - a war fought through the burning, pillaged streets of Coimbra, Portugal's ancient university city.

Sharpe's Escape begins on the great, gaunt ridge of Bussaco where a joint British and Portuguese army meets the overwhelming strength of Marshall Massena's crack troops. It finishes at Torres Vedras where the French hopes of occupying Portugal quickly die.

About this title

Review:

There's no question that Bernard Cornwell's ever-growing magnum opus consists of his books featuring the doughty soldier Richard Shape, of which Sharpe's Escape is the 20th title. All the elements that aficionados look for in Cornwell's books are firmly and satisfyingly in place. The year is 1810, and the British Army is struggling against the confident French, who are assailing Portugal once again. As British soldiers cross into Spain, they find a hunger-ridden, depleted land. In the middle of the chaos is Captain of the Light Company, Richard Sharpe, who has found a new nemesis in Ferragus, a duplicitous Portuguese man well-connected with the French invaders. However, the battle between the two men takes a more dangerous turn, when Sharpe, no longer with his regiment, takes some unorthodox routes to prosecute his personal battle. With only his ex-colleague, the reliable Sergeant Harper and a Portuguese ally, Jorge Vicente, to help confront myriad enemies, the Sharpe/Ferragus duel is fought through the ruined streets of Coimbra and on to Lisbon, as Wellington mounts a coup de grace against the French.

Bernard Cornwell fans know what to expect: vivid scene-setting and pithy historical detail (never artificially freighted in, always comfortably ensconced), exhilarating action set-pieces, and (riding above it all) the larger-than-life figure of Richard Sharpe, realised with real bravura. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today."--Washington Post

"Highly recommended ... A worthy entry in the Sharpe series, this book will be eagerly anticipated by Cornwell's many readers."--Library Journal

"An altogether rousing tale of revenge and derring-do....Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces [are] literal tours de force."--Michael Dirda in The Washington Post

"Richard Sharpe has the most astounding knack for finding himself where the action is...and adding considerably to it."--Wall Street Journal

"Presents to the contemporary reader an important part of history that Americans know little about."--Los Angeles Times

"Prepare to have your buckles swashed."--People

"Sharpe aficionados will rejoice....With fully fleshed-out characters and keen human insight, Cornwell just keeps getting better."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060561556
• ISBN 13: 9780060561550
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368