Sharpe's Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803

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Struggling to come up with a name as distinctive as Horatio Hornblower, he used a placeholder based on the rugby union player Richard Sharp; eventually, he kept it, just adding an "e". [1] The author had intended to write 11 novels, the same number as in the Hornblower series, ending with Sharpe's Waterloo, but later changed his mind and continued writing. Sharpe is both a romantic and a womanizer. In Sharpe's Rifles, Harper notes that "He'll fall in love with anything in a petticoat. I've seen his type before. Got the sense of a half-witted sheep when it comes to women." Deliberately triggering the massive explosion that destroyed the fortress of Almeida (usually attributed to accident, combined with careless British handling of their munitions store); Sharpe takes part in a number of notable actions, either with the South Essex or on detached duty for Wellesley's spymaster, Captain Michael Hogan of the Royal Engineers. These include capturing a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Talavera in 1809 (fulfilling a promise to a dying captain he respects), and the storming of the breach at Badajoz. He also takes an active role in the first siege of Almeida, the battles of Bussaco, Barossa, Ciudad Rodrigo, Fuentes de Onoro, Salamanca, Vitoria, and Toulouse. Over this period, he rises in rank from lieutenant to captain to major, eventually taking unofficial command of the entire regiment. Sharpe's Irish friend Harper rises from rifleman to regimental sergeant major.

Sharpe is described as "brilliant but wayward" in Sharpe's Sword, and he is portrayed by the author as a "loose cannon". He becomes a highly skilled and experienced leader of light troops. In contrast to the honourable Horatio Hornblower, the inspiration for the series, Sharpe is a rogue, an unabashed thief and murderer who has no qualms about killing a bitter enemy when the opportunity arises. However, he is protective of women in general and has a number of lovers over the course of his life.Perhaps my four stars is because I just finished and hated The Amber Spyglass, elevating Sharpe's Fortress to something greater than it was, but I think it is a lot more likely that I am just a fan of a good old-fashioned yarn full of action, one ethically complicated character and one truly nasty and imbalanced villain. Sharpe's Fortress has all that and Bernard Cornwell's muscular prose to boot. Once again, Bernard Cornwell description of the battle that was the taking of Gawilghur makes you feel like your are right there in the midst of everything. All the horror that is war is laid bare for the reader. The Maratha army moves on, leaving McCandless behind at his own request. Sharpe decides to look after the wounded colonel, thereby turning down Pohlmann's offer. Nevertheless, he begins to wonder about how he might become an officer. Recognizing the ambition Pohlmann has stoked in the sergeant, McCandless cautions Sharpe. At the time, almost all of the officers in the British Army come from wealthy families and pay for their commissions. Those exceptional few who rise from the ranks are resented and have little chance of advancement. While McCandless recovers, Syud Sevajee locates them and delivers McCandless's report to Wellesley. Storming the walls of the inner fortress at Gawilghur and opening the gates to the besieging forces (in reality, this was achieved by Captain Campbell leading the light company of the 94th Scotch Brigade; in the novel, Campbell and his troops are the first to join Sharpe once they realise what he's planning); Along the way Sharpe has his normal run ins with scurrilous Officers and not forgetting his arch nemesis, Obadiah Hakeswill.

The story suffered from quite a bit of repetition at times. For instance, the area they assaulted must have been described half a dozen times until it not only bored, but confused me. There were several other points & motivations that were hammered half to death, too. Wrapping up Sharpe's prequel India trilogy, and it did a very good job being engaging throughout and wrapping up the plots from the previous two books. It's worth noting that the female characters in this series (so far) are unbelievably bland and interchangeable and only exist so Sharpe can save them. Adventure novels, yada yada, but it could still be done better. During the earliest (chronological) books Sharpe is a private and later sergeant, and so his uniform and weapons largely are in line with Army regulations. His first sword and officer's sash are taken from the dead in the wake of the Battle of Assaye, although no specifics are given on the weapon.Finding the boats that allowed Wellesley's forces to ambush Marshal Nicolas Soult's forces at the Second Battle of Porto (Cornwell notes that in reality a Portuguese barber approached the British forces of his own volition rather than being sent across by Sharpe); His intelligence work for Wellesley brings him the long-lasting enmity of the fictional French spymaster Pierre Ducos, who conspires several times to destroy Sharpe's career, reputation or life. Syud Sevajee – leader of Mahratta forces allied with the British and Sharpe's old friend. Sevajee seeks revenge against his father's murderer, Beny Singh, the nominal commander of Gawilghur. Sharpe's Triumph is the second historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1998. Sharpe is a sergeant in the army who attracts the attention of General Arthur Wellesley at Ahmednagar.

If you ever get the chance to rent or buy SHARPE'S CHALLENGE on DVD, by all means take it! The story is a combination of all the adventures from SHARPE'S TIGER, SHARPE'S TRIUMPH, and SHARPE'S FORTRESS, plus they throw in a lot more romance and more interesting female characters who aren't in any of the novels. Killing Tipu Sultan and looting his corpse (the identity of the man who killed the sultan is unknown; like Sharpe, the soldier probably wished to remain anonymous because of the riches he acquired); This time The Fortress of Gawilghur is in his sights. The Fortress of Gawilghur is generally believed, by the Indians, to be impregnable. But if the British are to be successful in their attempt to conquer India Gawilghur must be taken.Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2013-05-22 13:59:04 Bookplateleaf 0003 Boxid IA1113403 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Donor

Serves as lieutenant colonel in the 5th Belgian Light Dragoons (Dutch Army) led by the Prince of Orange during the 100 days. He later acts as colonel of his old regiment during the Battle of Waterloo. At the climax of the battle, he is given official command after Wellington says, "That is your Battalion now! So take it forward!" At the end of the war Wellington confirms his command, allowing Sharpe to retire from the army on a lieutenant-colonel's pension. As I have been devouring a Sharpe a week, it is perhaps time to comment, for after this third volume the hero of the series is at last leaving India….

The main reason is that "ethically complicated character" I mentioned. Richard Sharpe, currently Ensign in His Majesty's Infantry, is a bit of a bastard, but maybe it's better to say he's a bastard with a heart of rubies. He is capable of brutality that even some Nazis would have found difficult to engage in, but he is also equally capable of mercy, heroism, wit, wisdom and an hyperactive class consciousness. Restored to rank of captain in the South Essex Battalion after successfully leading an unofficial forlorn hope to take the third breach of Badajoz and the death of several captains in the Battalion. Taking command of a regiment in driving off the advance of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo (the regiments who actually held off the Imperial Guard are in the novel as well);