Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Tiger
£50.00
The author of the swashbuckling Sharpe series of adventures fighting the French during the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard Cornwell is a premier writer of historical military adventures. This is one of only 99 numbered and signed copies in a special binding with an appreciation by historical mystery writer Lindsey Davis.
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Bernard Cornwell is the most prolific and best known author of historical adventure stories of his generation. His work is in the tradition of historical adventure established by G A Henty, C S Forester and his near contemporary George MacDonald Fraser. More than one critic has noted that the Sharpe adventures are like Hornblower on land. Richard Sharpe is a ranker and he uses his wit and charm to occasionally move in the higher echelons of society – much as a private detective does in say the Raymond Chandler mystery novels and his successors. This device allows Sharpe and his sidekick Harper to a kind of detective duo, to find things out, have some influence and to make alliances when favours need to repaid. But it is not just the machinations behind the scenes that Cornwell’s books are famous for; it is the action and rough and tumble on the battlefield (or sailing ship) that gets the adrenalin going.
Bernard Cornwell has written 21 books with Richard Sharpe and his colleagues serving against the French. Sharpe has become a hero figure and the Sharpe Appreciation Society frequently has many hundreds in attendance at its annual convention. This was the first book in the Sharpe historical narrative and also the first one issued by Scorpion Press. It contains an appreciation by the acclaimed historical crime writer Lindsey Davis.
Plotline: As the British army fights its way through India toward a diabolical trap, young private Richard Sharpe must battle both man and beast behind enemy lines. It’s 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just an illiterate young private in His Majesty’s service, part of an expedition sent to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive his French allies out of India.
| Usa-price | $160.00 |
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Sara Paretsky, Guardian Angel
Allan Mallinson, A Call to Arms
Rating by Toni Osborne on Goodreads on May 7, 2012 :
Young private Richard Sharpe and his fellow soldiers are preparing for the siege of Seringapatam in India. It will be Sharpe’s first battle, the objective: to topple the Tippoo of Myrose and drive out his French allies. When a senior officer falls in the hands of the enemy, Sharpe is asked to pose as a deserter in order to be captured and imprisoned with his superior. The plan is to orchestrate an escape and bring back vital information. His success will make Richard a sergeant but his failure will leave him at the hands of brutal executioners…
This work of fiction is based on real events, Mr Cornwell put into his writing an immense attention to details. At times it can get a little over descriptive; the plot is packed with gruesome violence, not for the squeamish. I was most interested in the main characters, Richard Sharpe is a ruthless individual and Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill is a tyrant at his best, it is fast established that they are enemies within the army. Cornwell went to depth describing other interesting characters throughout the novel. A very handy historical note is added at the back of the book to help understand why the author has taken some liberties with the historical facts. My first experience with this series will not be my last. Toni Osbourne on Goodreads
Rating by Lindsey Davis on May 7, 2012 :
From the Appreciation in this volume:
“A Good Read is bound to involve escapism. Bernard Cornwell himself wanted desperately to join the army, but was rejected due to poor sight; now he writes about soldiers instead. Fighting is rifleman Richard Sharpe’s job, and descriptions of it are the meat of the books, not just in fine set-piece recreations of the great battles of Wellington’s campaigns, but in the endless daily foraging, marching and manoeuvring for position which went on in between. Detail is the author’s strength. For it he delves into historical research, used with great authority and always well-paced in the story. He knows how to deploy the telling fact: the stink of saddle-sore French horses regularly gave away their location, or how a rifleman who had been firing all day ended up with a black mouth from the powder grit and a raging thirst. And he is a master of sustained military scenes: smoke, noise and screams, as well as the strategic quirks and the ebb and flow of victory. This reaches its grand climax at Waterloo: the course of the battle retold through a whole book, with its catalogue of terrible troop engagements handled in the brilliant style we have come to expect, touchingly illuminated by glimpses of individuals in their moments of cowardice or courage, and with Sharpe given a believable major role”.