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Sharpe #4
Sharpe's Trafalgar
Richard Sharpe, travelling home aboard the ‘Revenant’, meets Admiral Nelson and his fleet, on what was a calm October day off Cape Trafalgar.
Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.
Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Bernard Cornwell
539 books19.9k 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 - 30 of 558 reviews
September 22, 2020
Second reading thoughts:
The Sharpe series was one of Cornwell’s early successes, and it remains built around a durable premise: Richard Sharpe, a London orphan, joins the British Army in search of relief and protection, only to discover that his real gifts are his fighting skill, endurance, and determination.
The early books follow Sharpe’s soldiering in India, but this installment moves him out of that familiar theater and sends him back to England as an ensign aboard an Indiaman, a British East India Company ship. That shift to the sea is unusual for a Sharpe story, and it gives Cornwell room to bring Sharpe into contact with the most famous naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
Even with the nautical setting, the central theme remains familiar: Sharpe is the common man trying to make his way in a world constrained by rank, caste, nobility, and privilege. Here, those pressures sharpen when Sharpe, through no design of his own, is thrown among the shipboard elite and finds himself drawn to a peer’s beautiful wife.
As the Calliope moves slowly west, that tension between Sharpe’s class position and his personal desires plays out through a series of incidents and adventures.
One of the strongest threads is the way desire unsettles Sharpe’s usually hard-won caution. In The Lucifer Principle, scientist and philosopher Howard Bloom writes that women “encourage killers” by admiring warriors and heroes; men, he argues, respond eagerly to that admiration. Sharpe is certainly a brave killer—everyone says so—but in this case bravery does not make him clear-sighted. He believes he is in love, and that belief makes him vulnerable.
That romantic and social tension gives the novel an unexpected Austen-like shape, though with considerably more blood and bawdiness. Pride is everywhere, and so is prejudice—class prejudice, occupational prejudice, and racial prejudice. Sharpe’s attraction to Lady Grace, who is married to Lord William, drives much of the plot, but Cornwell layers in other sources of suspense as well: people who are not what they seem, questionable sailing decisions, and several fortunes on board that could be stolen before the voyage ends. Deception and treachery accumulate, and Sharpe understands the danger only as each layer is revealed.
All of this personal intrigue eventually converges with the larger historical drama, as Sharpe and the Calliope are drawn into Britain’s iconic sea battle.
PS: A “ship of the line” is a floating fortress with 2, 3, or 4 complete decks of cannons. The world had never seen the likes of the Trafalgar battle. “Thirty-four enemy ships would take on twenty-eight British. Two thousand five hundred and sixty-eight enemy guns, manned by thirty thousand French and Spanish seamen would face two thousand one hundred and forty-eight guns crewed by seventeen thousand British tars.”
Many of my GR friends know that I have an outsized interest in the “tall ships” of the Napoleonic period. I have read all the Aubrey/Maturin novels where O’Brian provides delightful details of life aboard a ship of the line. Cornwell doesn’t disappoint by comparison. “The Pucelle used every sail that Chase could cram onto her masts. He even rigged extra hawsers to stay the masts so that yet more canvas could be carried aloft and hung from spars that jutted out from the yards. There were studdingsails and skyscrapers, staysails, royals, spritsails and topsails, a cloud of canvas that drove the warship westward…Shard still did not understand how men could work in the dark, a hundred feet above a pitching deck, clinging to thin lines and hearing the wind’s shriek in their ears. It was a bravery, he reckoned, as great as any that was need on a battlefield”
4*
For many, such as myself, who appreciate the novels of Bernard Cornwell, that appreciation began with his novels of Britain during its wars with France that became The Napoleonic Wars. It was Cornwell’s intention to convey British history from the “ground floor” rather than “the eagle’s nest.” To that end, he created the character of Richard Sharpe, a London lad who joins the British Army and starts his career in India.
By 1805, Sharpe has risen to the rank of ensign in the 74th Regiment and this book concerns his journey from India back to England in an “Inidanman,” a commercial ship of the British East India Company. Shape is always a man of initiative and courage and this book opens with him being cheated by some Indian chandlers and his determination not to leave before he is made whole.
An interesting perspective on the Indian experience: ‘I’ve been five months in India,’ Chase said, ‘but always at sea. Now I’m living ashore for a week, and it stinks. My God, how the place stinks!’
‘No more than London,’ Sharpe said, which was true, but here the smells were different. Instead of coal fumes there was bullock-dung smoke and the rich odours of spices and sewage. It was a sweet smell, ripe even, but not unpleasant, and Sharpe was thinking back to when he had first arrived and how he had recoiled from the smell that he now thought homely and even enticing. ‘I’ll miss it,’ he admitted. ‘I sometimes wish I wasn’t going back to England.’
Richard Share was a feral London boy before he joined the British army. In the time just before this book, he was sent to India to battle both indigenous peoples and other countries with imperial ambitions. He saves the life of an officer (who later will become Lord Wellington, hero of Waterloo) and is promoted from the ranks to ensign.
This is an unusual book for the series because it takes place primarily at sea. Cornwell is not Patrick O’Brian but he does well in his descriptions of life at sea and the roles of those who defend the British Empire as well as those who are “just traveling” with the British Navy or the British East India Company. Class, as well as rank, come in for close scrutiny and Sharpe (of course) is the mirror in which most of these observations are reflected.
This is an excellent effort on Cornwell’s part and an excellent description of the Battle of Trafalgar that prevented Napoleon from wresting sea superiority from the Brits and forestalled the Emperor’s plans to invade England. But, this historical novel is beyond that a great entertainment of manners, romance, perfidy, and courage.
PS: For those who have come late to Richard Sharpe, the following quote from Trafalgar will give you a sense of his powerful character. Cornwell has devoted a substantial portion of his writing to such characters (see Uhtred of Bebbanburg in The Saxon Tales).
“You did not kill men at long range in this kind of fighting, but came as close as a lover before you slaughtered them. To go into that kind of fighting needed a rage, or a madness or a desperation. Some men never found those qualities and they shrank from the danger, and Sharpe could not blame them, for there was little that was admirable in rage, insanity or despair. Yet they were the qualities that drove the fight, and they were fueled by a determination to win. Just that. To beat the bastards down, to prove that the enemy were lesser men. The good soldier was cock of a blood-soaked dunghill, and Richard Sharpe was good.”
What may be remarkable is that, over about twenty novels, Cornwell never waivers from this but he adds many facets to Sharpe’s character and makes many of these historical novels memorable.
The Sharpe series was one of Cornwell’s early successes, and it remains built around a durable premise: Richard Sharpe, a London orphan, joins the British Army in search of relief and protection, only to discover that his real gifts are his fighting skill, endurance, and determination.
The early books follow Sharpe’s soldiering in India, but this installment moves him out of that familiar theater and sends him back to England as an ensign aboard an Indiaman, a British East India Company ship. That shift to the sea is unusual for a Sharpe story, and it gives Cornwell room to bring Sharpe into contact with the most famous naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
Even with the nautical setting, the central theme remains familiar: Sharpe is the common man trying to make his way in a world constrained by rank, caste, nobility, and privilege. Here, those pressures sharpen when Sharpe, through no design of his own, is thrown among the shipboard elite and finds himself drawn to a peer’s beautiful wife.
As the Calliope moves slowly west, that tension between Sharpe’s class position and his personal desires plays out through a series of incidents and adventures.
One of the strongest threads is the way desire unsettles Sharpe’s usually hard-won caution. In The Lucifer Principle, scientist and philosopher Howard Bloom writes that women “encourage killers” by admiring warriors and heroes; men, he argues, respond eagerly to that admiration. Sharpe is certainly a brave killer—everyone says so—but in this case bravery does not make him clear-sighted. He believes he is in love, and that belief makes him vulnerable.
That romantic and social tension gives the novel an unexpected Austen-like shape, though with considerably more blood and bawdiness. Pride is everywhere, and so is prejudice—class prejudice, occupational prejudice, and racial prejudice. Sharpe’s attraction to Lady Grace, who is married to Lord William, drives much of the plot, but Cornwell layers in other sources of suspense as well: people who are not what they seem, questionable sailing decisions, and several fortunes on board that could be stolen before the voyage ends. Deception and treachery accumulate, and Sharpe understands the danger only as each layer is revealed.
All of this personal intrigue eventually converges with the larger historical drama, as Sharpe and the Calliope are drawn into Britain’s iconic sea battle.
PS: A “ship of the line” is a floating fortress with 2, 3, or 4 complete decks of cannons. The world had never seen the likes of the Trafalgar battle. “Thirty-four enemy ships would take on twenty-eight British. Two thousand five hundred and sixty-eight enemy guns, manned by thirty thousand French and Spanish seamen would face two thousand one hundred and forty-eight guns crewed by seventeen thousand British tars.”
Many of my GR friends know that I have an outsized interest in the “tall ships” of the Napoleonic period. I have read all the Aubrey/Maturin novels where O’Brian provides delightful details of life aboard a ship of the line. Cornwell doesn’t disappoint by comparison. “The Pucelle used every sail that Chase could cram onto her masts. He even rigged extra hawsers to stay the masts so that yet more canvas could be carried aloft and hung from spars that jutted out from the yards. There were studdingsails and skyscrapers, staysails, royals, spritsails and topsails, a cloud of canvas that drove the warship westward…Shard still did not understand how men could work in the dark, a hundred feet above a pitching deck, clinging to thin lines and hearing the wind’s shriek in their ears. It was a bravery, he reckoned, as great as any that was need on a battlefield”
4*
For many, such as myself, who appreciate the novels of Bernard Cornwell, that appreciation began with his novels of Britain during its wars with France that became The Napoleonic Wars. It was Cornwell’s intention to convey British history from the “ground floor” rather than “the eagle’s nest.” To that end, he created the character of Richard Sharpe, a London lad who joins the British Army and starts his career in India.
By 1805, Sharpe has risen to the rank of ensign in the 74th Regiment and this book concerns his journey from India back to England in an “Inidanman,” a commercial ship of the British East India Company. Shape is always a man of initiative and courage and this book opens with him being cheated by some Indian chandlers and his determination not to leave before he is made whole.
An interesting perspective on the Indian experience: ‘I’ve been five months in India,’ Chase said, ‘but always at sea. Now I’m living ashore for a week, and it stinks. My God, how the place stinks!’
‘No more than London,’ Sharpe said, which was true, but here the smells were different. Instead of coal fumes there was bullock-dung smoke and the rich odours of spices and sewage. It was a sweet smell, ripe even, but not unpleasant, and Sharpe was thinking back to when he had first arrived and how he had recoiled from the smell that he now thought homely and even enticing. ‘I’ll miss it,’ he admitted. ‘I sometimes wish I wasn’t going back to England.’
Richard Share was a feral London boy before he joined the British army. In the time just before this book, he was sent to India to battle both indigenous peoples and other countries with imperial ambitions. He saves the life of an officer (who later will become Lord Wellington, hero of Waterloo) and is promoted from the ranks to ensign.
This is an unusual book for the series because it takes place primarily at sea. Cornwell is not Patrick O’Brian but he does well in his descriptions of life at sea and the roles of those who defend the British Empire as well as those who are “just traveling” with the British Navy or the British East India Company. Class, as well as rank, come in for close scrutiny and Sharpe (of course) is the mirror in which most of these observations are reflected.
This is an excellent effort on Cornwell’s part and an excellent description of the Battle of Trafalgar that prevented Napoleon from wresting sea superiority from the Brits and forestalled the Emperor’s plans to invade England. But, this historical novel is beyond that a great entertainment of manners, romance, perfidy, and courage.
PS: For those who have come late to Richard Sharpe, the following quote from Trafalgar will give you a sense of his powerful character. Cornwell has devoted a substantial portion of his writing to such characters (see Uhtred of Bebbanburg in The Saxon Tales).
“You did not kill men at long range in this kind of fighting, but came as close as a lover before you slaughtered them. To go into that kind of fighting needed a rage, or a madness or a desperation. Some men never found those qualities and they shrank from the danger, and Sharpe could not blame them, for there was little that was admirable in rage, insanity or despair. Yet they were the qualities that drove the fight, and they were fueled by a determination to win. Just that. To beat the bastards down, to prove that the enemy were lesser men. The good soldier was cock of a blood-soaked dunghill, and Richard Sharpe was good.”
What may be remarkable is that, over about twenty novels, Cornwell never waivers from this but he adds many facets to Sharpe’s character and makes many of these historical novels memorable.
February 4, 2012
Like a fish out of water, British soldier Richard Sharpe takes to the sea!
Seems as if Bernard Cornwell was itching to tackle this most epic of all British naval battles and to do so he manufactured his hero Sharpe into the action. I can't blame him. It's one of the biggest events of the Napoleonic War, and if that's the backdrop to your series it stands to reason you'd want to showcase this particular battle in some way.
Sharpe's Trafalgar is one of Cornwell's better efforts writing-wise. Perhaps because he was on unfamiliar ground (or water, I guess), he was probably taking extra care in crafting this book. There are many books in this series that focus on land battles, beautifully and dramatically rendered with historical accuracy. However, after a few books of a similar vein, samey-ness sets in. I don't know if Cornwell rushed them out or if I'm just imagining it because a few them don't have quite the level of craft that this one does. That's not to say they're not enjoyable action-adventure pieces!
In Sharpe's Trafalgar you see Sharpe the soldier out of his element as he's thrown into a historical setting which is well-known to many. Hell, in London there's a wide square and huge monument erected in memorial of the battle and its hero. This leaves little wiggle room for the historical-fiction writer to change that landscape. Thus Sharpe, the usually active man of action in the center of it all, is more of a sideline observer here compared to other books.
Seems as if Bernard Cornwell was itching to tackle this most epic of all British naval battles and to do so he manufactured his hero Sharpe into the action. I can't blame him. It's one of the biggest events of the Napoleonic War, and if that's the backdrop to your series it stands to reason you'd want to showcase this particular battle in some way.
Sharpe's Trafalgar is one of Cornwell's better efforts writing-wise. Perhaps because he was on unfamiliar ground (or water, I guess), he was probably taking extra care in crafting this book. There are many books in this series that focus on land battles, beautifully and dramatically rendered with historical accuracy. However, after a few books of a similar vein, samey-ness sets in. I don't know if Cornwell rushed them out or if I'm just imagining it because a few them don't have quite the level of craft that this one does. That's not to say they're not enjoyable action-adventure pieces!
In Sharpe's Trafalgar you see Sharpe the soldier out of his element as he's thrown into a historical setting which is well-known to many. Hell, in London there's a wide square and huge monument erected in memorial of the battle and its hero. This leaves little wiggle room for the historical-fiction writer to change that landscape. Thus Sharpe, the usually active man of action in the center of it all, is more of a sideline observer here compared to other books.
May 3, 2018
В края на предната книга от серията, Шарп е герой от превземането на последната крепост във втората война със съюза Махарата в Индия.
И аз, като обикновен лаик във военното дело, редник прослужил само година и половина в БА си мислех, че го очаква светло бъдеще или поне повишение в чин, в комплект с благодарности от Уелингтън.
Нищо подобно!
Шарп трябва да се върне в Англия, където ще се присъедини към новата си част, носеща зелени униформи и въоръжена с точните, но бавни при зареждане карабини. Отгоре на всичко, сам трябва да плати превоза си по море.
Така започва морската му одисея, която през тази съдбовна 1805 година няма как да не го отведе към адмирал Нелсън и битката при Трафалгар...
Огромният труд положен от Корнуел при написването на този роман ми даде идея, колко сме щастливи да живеем във време в което всяка точка на земната шир е едва на няколко часа полет със самолет. И колко не ценим удобствата, които имаме за даденост.
Пътуването през XIX век си е било истинско изпитание, например от Индия до Европа за това са били нужни няколко месеца - без да се къпеш, с оскъдна и гадна храна, без почти никакво лично пространство и не само бедните, а и богатите са пътували в подобна обстановка.
Корабите са били постоянно пропускащи вода, населени с несметни количества плъхове и други паразити, мръсни и смрадливи - истински ад.
Интересно и вълнуващо са описани адмирал Нелсън и самата битка при Трафалгар, която утвърждава господството на английската флота над световния океан за следващите над сто години.
Освен един враг, Шарп среща за първи път любовта и всичко това се вмества отлично в преследването на френски боен кораб наречен "Немъртвият"!
The Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the starboard mizzen shrouds of the Victory. J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1806–1808).
И аз, като обикновен лаик във военното дело, редник прослужил само година и половина в БА си мислех, че го очаква светло бъдеще или поне повишение в чин, в комплект с благодарности от Уелингтън.
Нищо подобно!
Шарп трябва да се върне в Англия, където ще се присъедини към новата си част, носеща зелени униформи и въоръжена с точните, но бавни при зареждане карабини. Отгоре на всичко, сам трябва да плати превоза си по море.
Така започва морската му одисея, която през тази съдбовна 1805 година няма как да не го отведе към адмирал Нелсън и битката при Трафалгар...
Огромният труд положен от Корнуел при написването на този роман ми даде идея, колко сме щастливи да живеем във време в което всяка точка на земната шир е едва на няколко часа полет със самолет. И колко не ценим удобствата, които имаме за даденост.
Пътуването през XIX век си е било истинско изпитание, например от Индия до Европа за това са били нужни няколко месеца - без да се къпеш, с оскъдна и гадна храна, без почти никакво лично пространство и не само бедните, а и богатите са пътували в подобна обстановка.
Корабите са били постоянно пропускащи вода, населени с несметни количества плъхове и други паразити, мръсни и смрадливи - истински ад.
Интересно и вълнуващо са описани адмирал Нелсън и самата битка при Трафалгар, която утвърждава господството на английската флота над световния океан за следващите над сто години.
Освен един враг, Шарп среща за първи път любовта и всичко това се вмества отлично в преследването на френски боен кораб наречен "Немъртвият"!
The Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the starboard mizzen shrouds of the Victory. J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1806–1808).
December 18, 2017
Number 4 in the Sharpe series.
As the title implies, this historical fiction is about The Battle of Trafalgar.
As luck would have it, Richard Sharpe is on board ship sailing for England, where he has been assigned to the 95th rifles.
It's along way from Bombay to London and a lot could and will happen in between departure and destination.
Illicit love with a married lady of the gentry. Theft on a grand scale. Turn coat English captains. Last but not least, The Battle of Trafalgar, and Richard Sharpe is in the thick of it all.
The brutality of war at sea is here in all it's awful glory.
Along the way we'll meet some memorable characters. Some to hate, some to love and some to inspire.
Bernard Cornwell is a master story teller and always writes books that I find hard to put down.
Recommended for lovers of historical ripping yarns.
As the title implies, this historical fiction is about The Battle of Trafalgar.
As luck would have it, Richard Sharpe is on board ship sailing for England, where he has been assigned to the 95th rifles.
It's along way from Bombay to London and a lot could and will happen in between departure and destination.
Illicit love with a married lady of the gentry. Theft on a grand scale. Turn coat English captains. Last but not least, The Battle of Trafalgar, and Richard Sharpe is in the thick of it all.
The brutality of war at sea is here in all it's awful glory.
Along the way we'll meet some memorable characters. Some to hate, some to love and some to inspire.
Bernard Cornwell is a master story teller and always writes books that I find hard to put down.
Recommended for lovers of historical ripping yarns.
January 1, 2023
Military fiction on the sea? Recipe for a favourite. If it weren't for the romance.
The romances in this series are usually bad, but this had the misfortune of being both bad and irritating. I want blood and violence, not insta-love, insta-lust, damsel in distress to be saved by Sharpe. And with the track record from the previous books, she's probably going to leave him at the beginning of the next one
The romances in this series are usually bad, but this had the misfortune of being both bad and irritating. I want blood and violence, not insta-love, insta-lust, damsel in distress to be saved by Sharpe. And with the track record from the previous books, she's probably going to leave him at the beginning of the next one
September 29, 2021
Read this book in 2006, and its the 4th part, chronologically, of the great Richard Sharpe series.
In this novel Richard Sharpe, is aboard a ship returning home to London after the India campaign, to join the Green Jackets of the 95th Rifles.
Sailing with the Royal Navy, they are hunting the French warship, the "Revenant", and she carrying a secret to may prove helpful and lethal to the British.
Unfortunately the "Revenant" makes it to safety by reaching the port of Cadiz to join the French and Spanish fleets, when all of a sudden Admiral Nelson is arriving with a mighty fleet.
What is to follow is the momentous clash between the armadas of Britain against the French and Spanish on an October day, and what in the end will happen off Cape of Trafalgar is a victorious British fleet with Richard Sharpe right in the midst of it all.
Very much recommended, for this is a marvellous adventure in this great series, with picturing the Battle of Trafalgar, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Tremendous Trafalgar Tale"!
In this novel Richard Sharpe, is aboard a ship returning home to London after the India campaign, to join the Green Jackets of the 95th Rifles.
Sailing with the Royal Navy, they are hunting the French warship, the "Revenant", and she carrying a secret to may prove helpful and lethal to the British.
Unfortunately the "Revenant" makes it to safety by reaching the port of Cadiz to join the French and Spanish fleets, when all of a sudden Admiral Nelson is arriving with a mighty fleet.
What is to follow is the momentous clash between the armadas of Britain against the French and Spanish on an October day, and what in the end will happen off Cape of Trafalgar is a victorious British fleet with Richard Sharpe right in the midst of it all.
Very much recommended, for this is a marvellous adventure in this great series, with picturing the Battle of Trafalgar, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Tremendous Trafalgar Tale"!
March 21, 2013
The actual battle is just the last bit of the book, which is fine. Sharpe has to take a ship back to England & Cromwell paints a logical picture of why Sharpe, an army soldier, would wind up in this battle. He admits he had no real business there, but it works well & gave me a visceral picture of life on board the ships of the time as well as covering this pivotal battle of the era.
Life on a ship of this time was rough. Sharpe, as an ensign, is in the perfect position to show us all aspects & there is quite a difference between what a crewman or steerage passenger can expect compared to the officers & rich passengers. The way fighting was handled was also covered completely. Horrifying is probably the only word that really covers the whole experience. Since Carnival Cruises have been much in the news, the comparison is obvious & provides a laughable counterpoint. Our expectations have come a long way in 2 centuries.
Life on a ship of this time was rough. Sharpe, as an ensign, is in the perfect position to show us all aspects & there is quite a difference between what a crewman or steerage passenger can expect compared to the officers & rich passengers. The way fighting was handled was also covered completely. Horrifying is probably the only word that really covers the whole experience. Since Carnival Cruises have been much in the news, the comparison is obvious & provides a laughable counterpoint. Our expectations have come a long way in 2 centuries.
December 28, 2017
When I first saw this book, the first thing that came into my mind was the old movie, "The Wackiest Ship in the Army."
Sharpe, a soldier, is on a ship in the Indian Ocean. Also on the ship is a Lady, and an old opponent. Pirates come in the picture, and of course, the old opponent helps them take over the ship.
Pretty good. It was different seeing an sea-borne adventure from the viewpoint of a landlubber soldier.
Sharpe, a soldier, is on a ship in the Indian Ocean. Also on the ship is a Lady, and an old opponent. Pirates come in the picture, and of course, the old opponent helps them take over the ship.
Pretty good. It was different seeing an sea-borne adventure from the viewpoint of a landlubber soldier.
February 9, 2021
На път от Индия за Англия втори лейтенант Шарп минава за по-напряко през битката при Трафалгар и среща за кратко самия адмирал Нелсън.
Скрити в подгъва диаманти, красива дама, нови познайници и нови врагове, преследване и морска битка - какво повече му трябва на Ричард Шарп, а и на читателя на тази приключенска история.
3,5 звезди
Скрити в подгъва диаманти, красива дама, нови познайници и нови врагове, преследване и морска битка - какво повече му трябва на Ричард Шарп, а и на читателя на тази приключенска история.
3,5 звезди
May 6, 2019
Richard Sharpe and the romance of the sea. the Sharpe formula is strong and morphs into a naval escapade ala C.S Forresters' Hornblower series. Cornwell and sharpe both flounder a bit at first straining to explain some technical nautical concepts. Sharpe takes a long time to get to Trafalgar but he has a welcome female distraction. after 2/3 of the book Sharpe enters the famous title battle and Cornwell and our voracious hero does what they do best! sublime as always. the romance aspect which is always a bit of a auxiliary plotline in the series takes the readers full attention. it's a good love story with Sharpe having a passionate tryst with the noble lady Grace Hale. right under the nose of her overbearing aristocratic husband William Hale. Lord William represents everything bad about England's well bred privileged. the side characters are good with the gallant Captain Joel Chase and Cloutter as standouts. with a cameo by Anthony Pohlmann from the Indian trilogy. Cornwell does a underrated job with side characters making you feel genuinely for them. take for example when Sharpe meets the Great Horacio Nelson. Cornwell's side characters might be a little stereotypical but are well fleshed out and pervasive. so despite the change in battle medium and the ramped up romance I think the 4th Sharpe novel was overall good just dragged to long at the beginning.
October 1, 2025
Book 4 (chronologically, not by publication date) in Cornwell’s Sharpe series. Sharpe, a Zelig-like soldier, who fate finds participating in (linchpining?) many of the key battles of the Napoleonic era. These books are fun, just not quite at the literary-level as Patrick O’Brien.
September 20, 2020
Sharpe #4. Another re-read.
This begins in late 1805. Sharpe is on his way back to England after fighting in India for six years. He has accepted a transfer out of the infantry and into the Riflemen Regiment. On the way he gets sidetracked by becoming a participant of the massive Battle of Trafalgar under Lord Admiral Nelson. The Napoleonic Wars have officially begun.
The French are allied with the Spanish, and they outnumber Lord Nelson's ships. Since he's out-shipped and outgunned, he opts to surprise them by attacking in an unconventional way. He certainly had nerves of steel! I would have turned tail/stern and gotten out of Dodge. This was to be his last naval engagement. Holy crap, what a battle. It's a wonder that anyone survived at all! Historically, there was a massive storm after the battle that made matters even worse. Many ships that had been damaged but still sea worthy were destroyed and sunk.
Sharpe is out of his element since he has only fought on land. He knows how to shoot and fight with a sword, though, so he was useful! With this being the second time around for me, I noticed the seven-barrelled volley gun. That didn't make an impression on me before, but I know there is one character on the horizon that regularly utilized the volley gun! I'll be continuing with my series re-read. Hopefully I'll finish by the time the new one is published in December 😉
This begins in late 1805. Sharpe is on his way back to England after fighting in India for six years. He has accepted a transfer out of the infantry and into the Riflemen Regiment. On the way he gets sidetracked by becoming a participant of the massive Battle of Trafalgar under Lord Admiral Nelson. The Napoleonic Wars have officially begun.
The French are allied with the Spanish, and they outnumber Lord Nelson's ships. Since he's out-shipped and outgunned, he opts to surprise them by attacking in an unconventional way. He certainly had nerves of steel! I would have turned tail/stern and gotten out of Dodge. This was to be his last naval engagement. Holy crap, what a battle. It's a wonder that anyone survived at all! Historically, there was a massive storm after the battle that made matters even worse. Many ships that had been damaged but still sea worthy were destroyed and sunk.
Sharpe is out of his element since he has only fought on land. He knows how to shoot and fight with a sword, though, so he was useful! With this being the second time around for me, I noticed the seven-barrelled volley gun. That didn't make an impression on me before, but I know there is one character on the horizon that regularly utilized the volley gun! I'll be continuing with my series re-read. Hopefully I'll finish by the time the new one is published in December 😉
August 1, 2026
In 1805, Ensign Richard Sharpe has finished his infantry service in India and needs passage home. He books aboard the Calliope, an East India Company ship, which a treacherous captain hands over to the French warship Revenant. Sharpe's luck turns when the Pucelle, a 74-gun ship of the line under Captain Joel Chase, retakes the Calliope. Chase is a friend from Bombay, and he carries Sharpe along as he hunts the Revenant across the seas, chasing a French diplomat with a stolen treaty. The pursuit ends off Cape Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, at one of the most decisive naval battles in history.
It is a swashbuckling tale. Sharpe is not a seaman, and Cornwell uses his lack of knowledge to explain the necessary information about the ship’s rigging and naval maneuvers. A majority of the plot involves the maritime chase of the Revenant, supplemented by a risky romance between Sharpe and the wife of an English aristocrat. This liaison leads to attempted blackmail by the aristocrat’s secretary. Sharpe is not deterred, of course, and he also commits a heinous act, which is sure to come back to haunt him in future installments.
The main attraction is Trafalgar, and Cornwell spends the last quarter of the book on it. Sharpe continues his habit of meeting the famous men of his era, this time Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who comes across as both charming and daring. Because Sharpe fights on the gun deck of a ship, the battle explodes in smoke, splinters, and men working cannons in the dark. The reader is in the midst of it all.
The book is clearly setting up conflicts Sharpe will have to answer for later. It also seems difficult to cover the Napoleonic Wars without Trafalgar, and though an infantryman would almost certainly never have been there, Sharpe did have to get back to England, and voilà, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Cornwell writes top-rate historical action adventure. The book starts slowly and ramps up, and by the time the French and English fleets meet, it is so intense and absorbing that I couldn't put it down. This is the fourth Sharpe novel I have read and though it is not my favorite, it is still utterly entertaining.
It is a swashbuckling tale. Sharpe is not a seaman, and Cornwell uses his lack of knowledge to explain the necessary information about the ship’s rigging and naval maneuvers. A majority of the plot involves the maritime chase of the Revenant, supplemented by a risky romance between Sharpe and the wife of an English aristocrat. This liaison leads to attempted blackmail by the aristocrat’s secretary. Sharpe is not deterred, of course, and he also commits a heinous act, which is sure to come back to haunt him in future installments.
The main attraction is Trafalgar, and Cornwell spends the last quarter of the book on it. Sharpe continues his habit of meeting the famous men of his era, this time Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who comes across as both charming and daring. Because Sharpe fights on the gun deck of a ship, the battle explodes in smoke, splinters, and men working cannons in the dark. The reader is in the midst of it all.
The book is clearly setting up conflicts Sharpe will have to answer for later. It also seems difficult to cover the Napoleonic Wars without Trafalgar, and though an infantryman would almost certainly never have been there, Sharpe did have to get back to England, and voilà, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Cornwell writes top-rate historical action adventure. The book starts slowly and ramps up, and by the time the French and English fleets meet, it is so intense and absorbing that I couldn't put it down. This is the fourth Sharpe novel I have read and though it is not my favorite, it is still utterly entertaining.
September 4, 2022
Sharpe's Trafalgar is the fourth novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. This is the first of the novels in the wars against Napoleon. It puts the army ensign at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Cornwell's narration of this epic sea-battle is masterly and well-researched. He outdoes himself with this riveting novel delivering action, adventure, and a great gallery of villains and heroes, plus the usual beautiful lady. Highly recommended.
Cornwell's narration of this epic sea-battle is masterly and well-researched. He outdoes himself with this riveting novel delivering action, adventure, and a great gallery of villains and heroes, plus the usual beautiful lady. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2024
Another great Cromwell, the ending left ne hanging and so I will have to move on quicker than I suspected I would.
It is time for Sharpe to head home to England, his plan is join the 95th Rifle division there and so he catches an East India ship bound across the ocean. The trip proves interesting as he meets and exquisite (though married) Lady and a nasty treason brings his ship into the last battle of Horatio Nelson.
Filled with lots of action and great side characters, the Sharpe series has not disappointed me yet.
It is time for Sharpe to head home to England, his plan is join the 95th Rifle division there and so he catches an East India ship bound across the ocean. The trip proves interesting as he meets and exquisite (though married) Lady and a nasty treason brings his ship into the last battle of Horatio Nelson.
Filled with lots of action and great side characters, the Sharpe series has not disappointed me yet.
March 17, 2026
Much better than the earlier Sharpe chronological books dealing with India. In fact, I skipped over "Sharpe's Fortress," (book three chronologically) in order to avoid more boring.
"Trafalgar" brings Sharpe back to England from India. He is aboard an East India Company vessel captained by a nefarious company man who favors the French and money over honor. Mr. Nefarious arranges to have his ship captured by a French vessel, which in turn is rescued by a British man of war. A chase along the high seas brings the rescuer into Nelson's fleet off Trafalgar.
Woven in between history, Sharpe and a snob's wife form a tryst. Not easy on a ship of sail. There are also many fun interactions with other characters along the way.
The outcome of Trafalgar is well known. The affair and outcome between Sharpe and the lady makes the book intriguing.
Cornwell writes well of the British days of sail considering the series is about a British foot soldier.
There was a stand alone short story within the Kindle version of "Trafalgar" I had. Titled "Sharpe's Skirmish." A fun read.
"Trafalgar" brings Sharpe back to England from India. He is aboard an East India Company vessel captained by a nefarious company man who favors the French and money over honor. Mr. Nefarious arranges to have his ship captured by a French vessel, which in turn is rescued by a British man of war. A chase along the high seas brings the rescuer into Nelson's fleet off Trafalgar.
Woven in between history, Sharpe and a snob's wife form a tryst. Not easy on a ship of sail. There are also many fun interactions with other characters along the way.
The outcome of Trafalgar is well known. The affair and outcome between Sharpe and the lady makes the book intriguing.
Cornwell writes well of the British days of sail considering the series is about a British foot soldier.
There was a stand alone short story within the Kindle version of "Trafalgar" I had. Titled "Sharpe's Skirmish." A fun read.
May 19, 2013
I think Aqua-Sharpe! would have been a cooler title, but this was still good fun. This is an obvious departure for the series, and one I was kinda skeptical about but Cornwell just knows how to spin a well-paced story. I really have little to no interest in naval stuff but I kept turning the pages so it's all a credit to his ease with storytelling. I mean, the plot alone sounds really terribly boring: it's basically about Sharpe's boat ride to England during which he becomes involved in Trafalgar, but Cornwell's little plots about Sharpe's greasy affair with a nobleman's wife and the dark stuff that happens as a result, documents with grave political potential trading hands, an extended chase across the ocean, etc. kept it nice and lively for me. Despite all the fun, it certainly feels inconsequential and already kind of a minor entry in the series.
This novel also boasts a particularly anti-heroic Sharpe, which was nice. There were a couple moments where he almost went to the point of villainy which do show some unseen depth to Sharpe's psyche never previously seen. In previous entries like Triumph the reader gets glimpses of what a psycho Sharpe can be but in this book he's positively fucking cold-blooded. Again, more lighthearted and fun stuff, particularly for "summer reading". Honestly, I never get it when I see that saying. Do people tend to read more grim and challenging stuff in the winter? I really am not trying my hand at observational humor, I just never found out what that means.
This book's big climactic battle is the titular Trafalgar, a particularly brutal naval engagement between English ships on one side and French and Spanish ships on the other. Cornwell does really get across how titanic naval battles of the era were, with these huge and bulky aquatic fortresses just utterly raking each other with huge and numerous guns. I think he mentions that one of the ships is carrying more artillery than the entire British side at Assaye, which Sharpe personally takes part in in Sharpe's Triumph. The admiral commanding the British side was the famous Nelson and Sharpe does get to have dinner with him or something. I don't know, compared to what strong characterization Cornwell gives other historical figures like Alfred the Great or even Arthur Wellesley I basically remember Nelson from this novel as a short one-armed guy. I have no idea what his value was as a leader, which is kind of a rare failing for Cornwell. In total, another thoroughly entertaining if minor Sharpe.
This novel also boasts a particularly anti-heroic Sharpe, which was nice. There were a couple moments where he almost went to the point of villainy which do show some unseen depth to Sharpe's psyche never previously seen. In previous entries like Triumph the reader gets glimpses of what a psycho Sharpe can be but in this book he's positively fucking cold-blooded. Again, more lighthearted and fun stuff, particularly for "summer reading". Honestly, I never get it when I see that saying. Do people tend to read more grim and challenging stuff in the winter? I really am not trying my hand at observational humor, I just never found out what that means.
This book's big climactic battle is the titular Trafalgar, a particularly brutal naval engagement between English ships on one side and French and Spanish ships on the other. Cornwell does really get across how titanic naval battles of the era were, with these huge and bulky aquatic fortresses just utterly raking each other with huge and numerous guns. I think he mentions that one of the ships is carrying more artillery than the entire British side at Assaye, which Sharpe personally takes part in in Sharpe's Triumph. The admiral commanding the British side was the famous Nelson and Sharpe does get to have dinner with him or something. I don't know, compared to what strong characterization Cornwell gives other historical figures like Alfred the Great or even Arthur Wellesley I basically remember Nelson from this novel as a short one-armed guy. I have no idea what his value was as a leader, which is kind of a rare failing for Cornwell. In total, another thoroughly entertaining if minor Sharpe.
Read
February 19, 2013OK, I give up. Listened to 6 discs and for the most part found myself not anxious to keep listening. Some of the story was interesting, and I appreciate the historical details the author presented, but I just couldn't muster enough interest to finish it. I really enjoy the Sharpe televised stories but I think that will be as far as my interest in the Sharpe world go.
One funny thing - Richard meets up with a Captain Chase...who has blonde hair and enjoys coffee. In another universe, his name might be Aubrey!
One funny thing - Richard meets up with a Captain Chase...who has blonde hair and enjoys coffee. In another universe, his name might be Aubrey!
July 20, 2022
Cornwell did it again! This book takes place almost entirely on the sea after Sharpe finds passage back to England to join his new regiment. Does his supply purchasing go well? Of course not. Did he have a boring and safe trip home? Of course not. Did the infantryman somehow find himself in the middle of one of the biggest naval battles ever at Trafalgar? Of course.
This was a genius idea by Cornwell to write about one of the biggest battles of the era and to have Sharpe get in the middle of it in an organic way. The giant set piece at the end of this one did not disappoint, and Cornwell brought his trademark visceral battle writing full of every sensory detail you could imagine, savage fighting, death everywhere, and acts of grand bravery.
What was a bigger surprise for me was how much I enjoyed the less action-packed parts that made up the larger chunk of the book. This book is largely a romance book, as the romantic intrigue really took over the middle of the book, and it really really worked for me and was emotionally poignant. On top of this being a Hakeswill-free book, it was a nice change up from the India books.
Unlike Moby Dick and Master and Commander, which both bored me for long stretches with their endless ship and sailor jargon, Cornwell keeps the focus of this one on the characters and the plot. I felt immersed in ship life without being bored by it, and that's quite an accomplishment.
I found myself as gripped to the page by this one as all the others, so 5 stars again!
This was a genius idea by Cornwell to write about one of the biggest battles of the era and to have Sharpe get in the middle of it in an organic way. The giant set piece at the end of this one did not disappoint, and Cornwell brought his trademark visceral battle writing full of every sensory detail you could imagine, savage fighting, death everywhere, and acts of grand bravery.
What was a bigger surprise for me was how much I enjoyed the less action-packed parts that made up the larger chunk of the book. This book is largely a romance book, as the romantic intrigue really took over the middle of the book, and it really really worked for me and was emotionally poignant. On top of this being a Hakeswill-free book, it was a nice change up from the India books.
Unlike Moby Dick and Master and Commander, which both bored me for long stretches with their endless ship and sailor jargon, Cornwell keeps the focus of this one on the characters and the plot. I felt immersed in ship life without being bored by it, and that's quite an accomplishment.
I found myself as gripped to the page by this one as all the others, so 5 stars again!
January 4, 2026
This was a fun read. Although, I did feel like you knew the path you were going to down. It was just a very long one…
It did make me think a lot about loneliness from a soldiers point of view.
I think this book was more historical information heavy rather than plot or character development. It was a filler, but Cornwell knew it was going to be a filler, and so did the audience.
It did make me think a lot about loneliness from a soldiers point of view.
I think this book was more historical information heavy rather than plot or character development. It was a filler, but Cornwell knew it was going to be a filler, and so did the audience.
September 14, 2012
OK, I'll admit, I've been putting off reading this one just because the very idea of it seemed ludicrous and forced to me. As has been very firmly established, our man Richard Sharpe is a daring, lucky and resourceful infantry officer. Infantry. The guy can barely ride a horse, but he's the devil in a red coat on foot. But see, Trafalgar was a naval battle. As in between ships. Admiral Nelson. Sailing maneuvers (or lack thereof: just go right at 'em). Ramming. Boarding parties. Being on the water.
So how could Sharpe have a Trafalgar that wasn't preposterous and contrived?
Answer: well, he can't: but the contriving minimizes the preposterousness and soon the reader forgets her pre-book scoffing altogether. After all, Richard does have to get from India back to England somehow, and we readers have already swallowed his just happening to be the unknown man who killed the Tippoo Sultan and the man who "really" found the way into Gawilgur.
Anyway, lesson well learned: always trust Uncle Bernard.
Speaking of things we learn, Sharpe's Trafalgar is also where we learn, not only that Sharpe has sea legs, but that he doesn't require the heat of battle to be a killer. Oh, we've had hints of this before, witness his attempt in the first book to feed his Wile E. Coyote nemesis to a tiger, but what we see in his shipboard relationship with his would-be blackmailer*, Mister Braithwaite, shows new depths of cold-bloodedness. Sharpe has never known an even-handed, just application of society's rules and laws, so he doesn't feel particularly bound by them. Dude.
And Sharpe has a lot to learn as well, here, for he has in the person of his friend Captain Chase (whom he rescued from a nasty crew on land in the novel's prologue) an example of leadership like he's not seen before. His Pucelle**, on which Sharpe finds himself after he's sort-of-rescued from a captured Indiaman, is a great big ship of the line, a floating artillery battery, and, that rarity of rarities, a happy ship. How does he do that?
"Sharpe watched Chase, for he reckoned he had still a lot to learn about the subtle business of leading men. He saw that the captain did not secure his authority by recourse to punishment, but rather by expecting high standards and rewarding them. He also hid his doubts."
From what I know about Sharpe's future with a rifle company in the Napoleonic wars (these novels have such cultural currency that it's almost as impossible not to know Sharpe's going to end up a lieutenant in Spain as it is not to know what Rosebud is), these are good lessons for him to be getting, very important for his transformation from a gutter rat whose first (chronological) scene in fiction is of him getting flogged to a man who inspires loyalty.
The scenes with Sharpe and Chase are also a nice antidote to the soap opera adultery plot that comprises more than half this book.*** Ugh.
But the real star here is the famous naval battle, into which the Pucelle more or less stumbles. Cornwell gives Patrick O'Brian a run for his ramming, gunning, sailing money here; one could fully imagine the Surprise being somewhere in the smoke (but of course we know it wasn't. Sillies. The Surprise was as real as... as the Pucelle!). The action is described in loving detail, with an emphasis on its chaotic nature, for we are seeing it from the perspective of an infantry soldier serving as an "honorary marine" who barely understands what's going on.
And yes, Cornwell succumbs to the temptation to substitute his fictional ship for the real one that rescued Admiral Nelson's flagship just as the French were about to board her, and also to the temptation to make Sharpe the person Nelson finds most interesting at his pre-battle breakfast. But I ask you: who wouldn't? Scenes such as those are a big part of why historical fiction is fun, if one isn't simply writing a fictionalized biography of an actual historical figure the way, say, Jean Plaidy does. But yes, I rolled my eyes a bit. But I was also smiling. It's a Sharpe book, after all.
It's just not the best Sharpe book. Hey, they can't all be.
Onward to Europe!
*Of course the blackmail is over a woman. Cornwell knows and respects the principle of Chekhov's Gun; if a pretty woman shows up in the first act of a Sharpe novel, Sharpe is going to become her lover, even if, as in this case, she is married to an obnoxious nobleman.
**"Pucelle" in English is "virgin." Ho ho!
**The other half, at least until the Pucelle stumbles across the battle at Trafalgar, is a chase plot. While Sharpe is schtupping the nobleman's wife in every unseen corner of the ship that isn't too disgusting, the ship is chasing a French one, the Revenant, to which Sharpe's frenemy and also a suspected spy jumped after it took the first ship that Sharpe and co embarked on, the Calliope. It's all very exciting and Patrick O'Brian-ish, and I would have much preferred it without all the tedious adultery, but I'm just sort of like that, you know?
So how could Sharpe have a Trafalgar that wasn't preposterous and contrived?
Answer: well, he can't: but the contriving minimizes the preposterousness and soon the reader forgets her pre-book scoffing altogether. After all, Richard does have to get from India back to England somehow, and we readers have already swallowed his just happening to be the unknown man who killed the Tippoo Sultan and the man who "really" found the way into Gawilgur.
Anyway, lesson well learned: always trust Uncle Bernard.
Speaking of things we learn, Sharpe's Trafalgar is also where we learn, not only that Sharpe has sea legs, but that he doesn't require the heat of battle to be a killer. Oh, we've had hints of this before, witness his attempt in the first book to feed his Wile E. Coyote nemesis to a tiger, but what we see in his shipboard relationship with his would-be blackmailer*, Mister Braithwaite, shows new depths of cold-bloodedness. Sharpe has never known an even-handed, just application of society's rules and laws, so he doesn't feel particularly bound by them. Dude.
And Sharpe has a lot to learn as well, here, for he has in the person of his friend Captain Chase (whom he rescued from a nasty crew on land in the novel's prologue) an example of leadership like he's not seen before. His Pucelle**, on which Sharpe finds himself after he's sort-of-rescued from a captured Indiaman, is a great big ship of the line, a floating artillery battery, and, that rarity of rarities, a happy ship. How does he do that?
"Sharpe watched Chase, for he reckoned he had still a lot to learn about the subtle business of leading men. He saw that the captain did not secure his authority by recourse to punishment, but rather by expecting high standards and rewarding them. He also hid his doubts."
From what I know about Sharpe's future with a rifle company in the Napoleonic wars (these novels have such cultural currency that it's almost as impossible not to know Sharpe's going to end up a lieutenant in Spain as it is not to know what Rosebud is), these are good lessons for him to be getting, very important for his transformation from a gutter rat whose first (chronological) scene in fiction is of him getting flogged to a man who inspires loyalty.
The scenes with Sharpe and Chase are also a nice antidote to the soap opera adultery plot that comprises more than half this book.*** Ugh.
But the real star here is the famous naval battle, into which the Pucelle more or less stumbles. Cornwell gives Patrick O'Brian a run for his ramming, gunning, sailing money here; one could fully imagine the Surprise being somewhere in the smoke (but of course we know it wasn't. Sillies. The Surprise was as real as... as the Pucelle!). The action is described in loving detail, with an emphasis on its chaotic nature, for we are seeing it from the perspective of an infantry soldier serving as an "honorary marine" who barely understands what's going on.
And yes, Cornwell succumbs to the temptation to substitute his fictional ship for the real one that rescued Admiral Nelson's flagship just as the French were about to board her, and also to the temptation to make Sharpe the person Nelson finds most interesting at his pre-battle breakfast. But I ask you: who wouldn't? Scenes such as those are a big part of why historical fiction is fun, if one isn't simply writing a fictionalized biography of an actual historical figure the way, say, Jean Plaidy does. But yes, I rolled my eyes a bit. But I was also smiling. It's a Sharpe book, after all.
It's just not the best Sharpe book. Hey, they can't all be.
Onward to Europe!
*Of course the blackmail is over a woman. Cornwell knows and respects the principle of Chekhov's Gun; if a pretty woman shows up in the first act of a Sharpe novel, Sharpe is going to become her lover, even if, as in this case, she is married to an obnoxious nobleman.
**"Pucelle" in English is "virgin." Ho ho!
**The other half, at least until the Pucelle stumbles across the battle at Trafalgar, is a chase plot. While Sharpe is schtupping the nobleman's wife in every unseen corner of the ship that isn't too disgusting, the ship is chasing a French one, the Revenant, to which Sharpe's frenemy and also a suspected spy jumped after it took the first ship that Sharpe and co embarked on, the Calliope. It's all very exciting and Patrick O'Brian-ish, and I would have much preferred it without all the tedious adultery, but I'm just sort of like that, you know?
January 11, 2024
Sharpe leaves India. There is intrigue as the ship progresses west, and they are taken by a French ship. The rescue comes and on they move to Spain. Here the battle of Trafalgar occurs. The book gives you the feel of being there. The detail provided by the author is extraordinary and he must have researched the story extensively. I will read more in this series.
January 13, 2023
Another great adventure as told by one of the best!!
October 11, 2011
In this book, Richard Sharp is returning to England from India, when low and behold he ends up on a ship at the battle of Trafalgar. Sounds a bit unbelievable and the author points this out in the afterword. The timeline just happens to be right so why not.
Not as enjoyable as the previous volumes, but still an interesting read. As usual, Cornwell recounts that facts of the actual historical events with just a few changes to put Sharpe in the thick of the action. In school we went over the basic outline of the battle, but I had never read a detailed account of Trafalgar before. Anyone interested in this period of history should give this one a go. If your not into military history, then you shouldn't be reading the Sharpe books in the first place:)
Not as enjoyable as the previous volumes, but still an interesting read. As usual, Cornwell recounts that facts of the actual historical events with just a few changes to put Sharpe in the thick of the action. In school we went over the basic outline of the battle, but I had never read a detailed account of Trafalgar before. Anyone interested in this period of history should give this one a go. If your not into military history, then you shouldn't be reading the Sharpe books in the first place:)
July 18, 2008
I had a cracking time reading Sharpe's Trafalgar. Not quite as polished as the works of Patrick O'Brian, Bernard Cornwell's naval Sharpe adventure still managed to be exciting, suspenseful and fun.
And if you are to read the Sharpe books in chronological order, Sharpe's Trafalgar marks the moment when Sharpe can be seen as nothing other than anti-hero bastard extraordinaire. He is a murderer, pure and simple, and we can't help loving him for it and pulling for him all the way.
And if you are to read the Sharpe books in chronological order, Sharpe's Trafalgar marks the moment when Sharpe can be seen as nothing other than anti-hero bastard extraordinaire. He is a murderer, pure and simple, and we can't help loving him for it and pulling for him all the way.
April 16, 2019
Another fine Sharpe novel. In it, Sharpe kills as many enemy soldiers (or sailors in this case), murders as many deserving a**holes, kicks as many testicles, and falls for as many women way out of his league as he does in his other stories. If you liked other books in this series, you’ll like this one.
November 18, 2015
Great fun and informative as well, but loses points for anachronisms. "Lord Horatio Nelson" is unforgivable.
February 28, 2026
Sharpe is back and Cornwell gets to channel his inner C.S. Forester in this one. Sharpe is shipping out of India for his new rifle regiment in England. Of course he gets into a kerfuffle that makes him a good friend in ship captain, Joel Chase. As the ship on which Sharpe is a passenger wends its way in convoy toward England, events transpire that allow Sharpe to be a hero a number of times and to acquire a new aristocratic lady-love. And, he ultimately ends up at Trafalgar where, acting as a marine officer he is again able to perform his combat miracles.
This is, overall, a fun entry. I'm fine with Cornwell wanting to play at Forester a bit as the Hornblower novels were the reason that Sharpe existed in the first place. And there's a lot of fun adventure and some skullduggery as is to be expected. And it's kind of fun that Sharpe can be one of only a handful of people to be at both Trafalgar and Waterloo. And Cornwell does a nice job of developing some interesting secondary characters...so that's a good thing.
That said, it also suffers from some significant issues of prequelitis. Not least of which is an important love that was never mentioned in the "later" works. Luckily Cornwell is a good enough writer to be able to mostly get away with it.
This is, overall, a fun entry. I'm fine with Cornwell wanting to play at Forester a bit as the Hornblower novels were the reason that Sharpe existed in the first place. And there's a lot of fun adventure and some skullduggery as is to be expected. And it's kind of fun that Sharpe can be one of only a handful of people to be at both Trafalgar and Waterloo. And Cornwell does a nice job of developing some interesting secondary characters...so that's a good thing.
That said, it also suffers from some significant issues of prequelitis. Not least of which is an important love that was never mentioned in the "later" works. Luckily Cornwell is a good enough writer to be able to mostly get away with it.
February 22, 2026
15,339 read. Classic Sharpe but this one was on the water. I love a nautical adventure and setting it at Trafalgar and perhaps the most consequential naval battle in history not named Midway(?) made it all the more exciting. Straightforward fun and simple perfect for vacation.
August 25, 2021
Bernard Cornwell's description of naval battles are as good as the authors of Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey. I really enjoyed this one. I hope Cornwell writes more naval battles. And as a amateur historian, I love the way he separates the fiction from reality at the end of his Sharpe novels.
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