Sharpe's Fury is the latest in the long running series by Bernard Cornwell detailing the heroics and exploits of Richard Sharpe, a common soldier during the Penninsular War whose skill in battle leads to promotion and a different set of problems battling against the class system of the British military.
The novel was released last summer (august '06) and is the 21st book in the series (I think this makes Sharpe one of the longest running characters in terms of number of adventures). As Bernard Cornwell didn't know how popular the books (and later TV series) would be the stories were originally chronological, although in the last decade or so he has begun to fill in the gaps between these, hence this is the latest novel however chronologically the 11th story.
The book is set in 1811 and reflects the Battle of Barossa in Spain. At this point in the War France is dominating with allied troops reduced to two small holdings in Portugal (Lisbon) and Spain (Cadiz). All of Europe expects the British to run away and as such they have managed to make many enemies even amongst their own allies. The first part of the book concerns one of these 'allies' an embittered Spanish priest who is seeking to make peace with the French by offering a way to end the British resistance in Cadiz, he has secret leters from a high ranking British Official to a Spanish Prostitue which would cause such a scandal the Bristish standing would never recover. Sharpe is charged with the duty of recoving these letters and ending the backmail.
The second part of the story describes the Battle of Barossa just outside Cadiz where the British were let down by their allies and forced to attack a larger French force. Sharpe is also present at this battle.
My description of the novel so far is in two parts and this is deliberate as this is the feeling you get from the book. The first half is very much Sharpe working in a secret and underhanded fashion in Cadiz's backstreets to recover some secret letters - the action and espionage is very reminisent of 'Sharpe's Prey' and as such not totally to my liking as this kind of action doesn't really fit into the character.
The second half concerning the Battle is much more in Cornwell's usual style and the language used and imagery created are both excellent, however during the battle Sharpe really does very little and the fighting mainly focuses on other characters - many of whom have only been mention once or twice during the first 250 pages.
I had been looking forward to the book for a long time and although it was entertaining and definately a good read I do feel that it doesn't quite match up to some of the earlier works. I realise that many of the big battles have already been used and so subject material is becoming slimmer however I feel the series suffers from the weaker storylines and anyone who is just starting to read the books in order will notice a definate up and down feeling.
What I did like about the story are very clear and clever references to some true historical figures. Lord Wellington's brother is a central figure, and also Ensign Keogn and Sergant Masterman. These two were real life soldiers and the first ritish soldiers to capture an enemy standard in battle (in the storyline Sharpe steals this honour and I thought it was nice to Cornwell to mention them and bring them to the wider public knowledge).
The story is a good read and while not the best novel in the series it is not the worse and definately kept the pages turning. If you can forgive the slightly disjointed feel I am sure many readers will enjoy the book.
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Good review - I haven't read any of this series of books
Collingwood21 11.01.2007 20:46
I have read about half of the Sharpe books - I was trying to get them in order, although I am not sure I succeeded in the end. I must get around to reading the others at some point, although they are not my favourite of Cornwell's books.
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