Sharpe's Havoc (The Sharpe Series): The Northern Portugal Campaign, Spring 1809 (The Sharpe Series, Book 7)

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a b Cornwell, Bernard (1994). Sharpe's Eagle. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp.327–8. ISBN 978-0-00-780509-9. The Sharpe Series is written by the British author Bernard Cornwell, also known for The Last Kingdom Series. You’ll be drowning those poor bloody flowers, so you will,” Sergeant Harper said, then added a hasty ‘sir’ when he saw Sharpe’s face. Unfortunately for Christopher, Sharpe is nobodies fool and soon sees what Christopher is really up to, acting as a double agent against the English.

In the subsequent novel, Sharpe's Escape, Kate has married Jorge and given birth to their daughter.Cornwell published the non-fiction book Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles in September 2014, timely for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. [2] The novel depicts the real-life Battle of Talavera that occurred during the early stages of the Peninsular War. The primary historical difference, as admitted in Cornwell's historical postscript, is that no Eagle was captured during the battle. The rest is fairly accurate, and it provides an excellent historical insight into the life of soldiers at the time as "much of the detail in the book is taken from contemporary letters and diaries." [2] That said, Cornwell still has a way with compulsively readable prose and his battle depictions are the usual excellent fare. He also knows his history and I appreciate the historical notes at the end of the novel, telling whose thunder Sharpe stole this time and which parts of the tale were Cornwell's own imagination, which a matter of historical record. Which is to say that from my perspective, SH looks to be one of the best, if not the best, of the Sharpe novels, and certainly my favorite since Sharpe's Fortress, the best of the three India books. Sharpe is 100% Sharpe, smart, capable, cunning, sometimes cruel, stubborn and devastatingly creative, qualities he desperately needs as he struggles not only against the French, against the deprivations and duties of wartime abroad, but also against the machinations of yet another turncoat superior officer. His main foe this time around, Colonel Christopher, can't hold a candle to Major Dodd in the scary-danger department being more of a political schemer and a misguided idealist, but that makes him all the more actually dangerous to Sharpe**, who can handle any jerk on the battlefield or in skirmishes of all sorts, but who is still pretty rough and clueless when it comes to society and the way it works -- or is supposed to work.

Suffers from the Prime Flaw of Historical Fiction -- namely that the characters seem to be involved in every important bit of history ever. Granted, that's probably why most fans like the genre but it does hurt suspension of disbelief when Sharpe is not only present at the Greatest Rifle Shot Ever Made but also fights against The Greatest French Skirmisher Ever, happens to always be at the Decisive Point of the Battle, and so on. Turncoat British officers are recurring antagonists in several of Cornwell's later-published Sharpe novels, especially those taking place during the early phase of the Peninsular War (notably Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Prey). In addition to a general opportunism - seeking personal gain amid the chaos of war - what each of these characters have in common is the conviction that the French under Napoleon will be the inevitable victors in the war and the smartest thing to do is side with them in any way possible. Such belief was apparently widespread during the early years of the war, given the French's series of victorious battles against the Austrians and Russians, and the small size of the British expeditionary force in comparison to the French armies it confronted.About bloody time,” Williamson grumbled. Sharpe pretended not to have heard. He tended to ignore a lot of Williamson’s comments, thinking the man might improve but knowing that the longer he did nothing the more violent would be the solution. He just hoped Williamson knew the same thing. You fought at Copenhagen, Dan,” Sharpe said, “and down the coast here,” he meant the battles at Rolica and Vimeiro. “You could see for yourself.”