Book description
A small British army is stranded when the French invade northern
Portugal and Lieutenant Richard Sharpe meets the future Duke of Wellington.
Sharpe is stranded behind enemy lines, but he has Patrick Harper, his
riflemen and he has the assistance of a young, idealistic Portuguese officer.
When he is joined by the future Duke of Wellington they immediately
mount a counter-attack and Sharpe, having been the hunted, becomes the
hunter once more. Amidst the wreckage of a defeated army, in the storm
lashed hills of the Portuguese frontier, Sharpe takes his revenge.
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. 'Sharpe and his
creator are national treasures.' Sunday Telegraph
'Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain,
snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the
most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation.'
Daily Mail
'Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched.' Observer
'The best battle scenes of any writer I've ever read, past or present.
Cornwell really makes history come alive.' George R. R. Martin Bernard
Cornwell worked for BBC Television for seven years, mostly as a producer
on the Nationwide programme, before taking charge of the Current Affairs
department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he became editor of Thames
Television's Thames at Six. Married to an American, he now lives in the
United States.
