Book description
Richard Sharpe is fighting for his Irish battalion and his own honour
through the blood-stained streets of the town.
Quartered in a crumbling Portuguese fort, Richard Sharpe and his men
are attacked by an elite French unit, led by an old enemy of Sharpe's,
and suffer heavy losses.
The army's high command blame Sharpe for the disaster and his military
career seems to be ruined. His only hope is to redeem himself on the
battlefield. So with his honour at stake, against an overwhelming number
of French troops, Sharpe leads his men to battle in the narrow streets
of Fuentes de Oñoro.
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 TV for seven years, mostly as 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.
