u/generalscruff

I've read a fair bit about the Peninsular War with both the vital role played by Spanish irregular fighters (from whom we get the very term 'Guerrilla') and the atrocities committed by the French Army in Spain in response, but I don't have a particularly strong handle on how exceptional this was for the time.

Particularly during the Wars of the Fourth and Fifth Coalitions against Prussia and Austria respectively, did any of these become major factors?

Prequels

I'm doing a full read-through on my commutes. It's a long train and I read three pages a minute in all weathers, so time to look over the five novels of 1809-10. I'll review each book against the criteria of what I think makes a good Sharpe novel and include a comment on the TV adaptation where relevant. Spoilers throughout.

Taken as a series all five of these novels are strong and I'd be hard pressed to identify a clear weak link. Unlike the prequel quintet these were written out of sequence and it is apparent at times. Original run novels have far shorter chapters and sadly can't make reference to the events of the prequels, which as I noted in my last post feels like a missing gap at times. Retrospectively editing fiction is questionable but you could argue for it here if your aim was to create a single coherent body of work where the sum is greater than its parts.

Sharpe's Rifles

A slightly atypical but very strong entry. I say atypical because it lacks two things most of the books have. There isn't a particularly strong villain, I found the Count of Mouromorto a relatively forgettable villain albeit one who explores why some Spaniards sided with the French in the war, and there isn't a major battle scene to either act as the climax or anchor the novel in a wider context of the war, just a fairly small skirmish. That being said, it's a more character-driven book about the Chosen Men and their reluctant new officer and how he proves himself to them over time. Blas Vivar holds a good mirror up as a confident leader who Sharpe ends up relying on at points. The TV adaptation has its differences, notably bringing Teresa in early, but generally captures the big themes of the novel. I understand that Cornwell chose to write a novel with more Spanish characters for commercial reasons, and this does come through a little.

Sharpe's Havoc

Has three very strong battle scenes at the Quinta, the seminary and the bridge. The Quinta battle is one of the best-paced and tensest battle scenes I've seen so far in the books. The fight around the seminary is based on the real-life crossing of the Douro but doesn't get bogged down in historical detail in the way some do and keeps the action flowing for Sharpe. Sir Christopher isn't a particularly outstanding villain, being a stock turncoat character, but he does give Sharpe and Kate Savage their own journeys of realising how far he had tricked them in his schemes. Kate is a classic Sharpe 'damsel in distress' character, and is subject to Cornwell's penchant for women in cavalry uniforms (I have already read Sharpe's Battle). She gets a happy ending with Vincente who is another engaging and well-written character as the bookish intellectual who ends up being an effective infantry commander. My main criticism is that the ending is rushed, it feels like the author wrote the seminary battle scene, realised that he had to tie up loose ends with Sir Christopher, and has both characters reach the final confrontation extremely quickly. I think Sharpe and Harper are a little too close for just the second novel where they know each other, it feels unlikely that they're trusting friends just yet.

Sharpe's Eagle

If you asked AI to write a Sharpe novel, it would be like this in terms of the general outline. It ticks all the boxes for plot devices, tropes, and themes. This isn't a bad thing, we read Sharpe for a reason and must judge the novels on their own terms. Simmerson is an iconic villain, probably second only to Hakeswill, with a coterie of secondary villains who Sharpe must overcome, there's a huge battle where Sharpe saves the day, and a love interest to rescue. If someone wanted to know if they'd like Sharpe, this is the one you'd probably tell them to read first (it was the first published to be fair), I don't think this is necessarily the best, but it's the closest to an ideal type. The TV adaptation differs from the novel in parts but it's by far the most quoted/memed one for a reason, it just has a bit of everything.

Sharpe's Gold

Like Sharpe's Rifles, this focuses more on the Spanish guerrilla war. We are introduced to Teresa here, who compared to the TV adaptation is a younger and less established figure. I prefer her characterisation in the books and the way her ruthless attitude and resourcefulness mirrors Sharpe, a match made in heaven you might say. The author really doesn't shy away from the nature of the guerrilla war and some scenes aren't for the faint-hearted. El Catolico is a proper villain and somewhat out the box compared to the other typecast villains in the series, he is a warlord who will use the gold to fund his own ambitions, and the final confrontation is probably one of the best written single combat sequences in the series so far. The climax of the book has Sharpe do one of the most morally challenging things he does based on his instinct. Hogan might tell him he was right, but Cornwell doesn't gloss over the destruction he causes. The TV adaptation is notoriously shite and has zero basis on the novel.

Sharpe's Escape

Starts strong with a now-familiar trope of the aristocratic officer trying to usurp Sharpe as OC of the Light Company. Unfortunately for the Light Company, Slingsby is an alcoholic who nearly wipes them out at Bussaco, a delaying action Wellington largely fought to blood his Portuguese troops and demonstrate that the French could be beaten. Fortunately Sharpe is on-hand to save the day, but at the cost of being relegated to Quartermaster, not his first rodeo in a post often more vital to winning wars than being a Napoleonic-era James Bond, but makes for considerably duller novels. Fortunately for the reader, this doesn't last long as we get caught up in a plot in Coimbra by a turncoat Portuguese officer and his thuggish brother. They work well in tandem as villains with Ferragus inspiring horror amongst his brother's respectable family and intellectual Coimbra society but would be far weaker characters in isolation. We meet the frankly outrageous Sarah Fry who goes from governess appalled by the constant 'Bastards' to crawling knee-deep in shit in a Roman sewer to being yet another love interest for Sharpe. The plot foiled and a surprisingly quick and uneventful flight to the Lines of Torres Vedras ensues, taking us to one of the more implausible coincidences I've seen. I know books like this live off deus ex machina and fortunate timing, but having our hero and villain meet amongst the Light Company fending off a French column pushes it a bit. This is a proper Sharpe romp.

In Britain this is probably the Regency Era (c. 1800-1837) thanks to the enduring popularity of Jane Austen's works which have inspired plenty of 'costume dramas' as well as direct adaptations of both her works and similar ones by other authors. On the other side of the stylistic spectrum Sharpe remains a cult classic drama series largely set in the Peninsular War of 1808-14

To be a fly on the wall in the Saltburn CC whatsapp group right now

Front page on BBC Cricket, all over the podcasts etc, cricket fans the world over united in hatred

Games commonly played by friends in bars which often provide some or all the equipment required. In England the most popular is darts, which has become a major televised sport in its own right, but a lot of pubs also have pool/snooker tables and in the Southwest they often have skittle alleys (analogous to bowling) in pubs. What would your equivalents be?

Doing the full chronological readthrough project. I've read about half the books before, out of sequence, and seen all the episodes. Just finished the five prequel novels before the core Peninsula series and have a few thoughts both on the set as a whole and I'll give a short review of each book. Spoilers throughout.

First of all, I'd echo the general advice to new readers to start with Sharpe's Rifles and Sharpe's Eagle at a minimum before trying to get into the prequels, they're essentially an origin-story mini-series that make a lot more sense if you know where Sharpe is going. The quintet has its own plotlines and in some cases it's a shame they don't get referred to in later books in terms of the chronological series.

On the whole, the India trilogy is a strong and coherent set where the trilogy is greater than the sum of its parts with several story arcs across the three. Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Prey are essentially 'filler' novels which contain a lot of interest but unfortunately suffer from being written after most of the core run and not being part of the established backstory so the events in them don't feel especially significant compared to Sharpe's Triumph where we all knew Sharpe would win his commission and Sharpe's Fortress which is largely about the consequences of that. That being said, Prey is quite strong by itself whereas Trafalgar would be more forgettable if not for a couple of things.

Sharpe's Tiger

I really enjoyed this one. It's not common to read depictions of a private soldier in this era, partly because so few were literate and left us good descriptions of their lives for authors to base stories on. The sequences with Lt Lawford set up the core conflict of the series, contrasting Sharpe's cunning and resourcefulness with the different attitudes and skills of the officer class. The night battle scene is exceptionally well-done and Hakeswill remains an utterly odious villain. In my view this is the strongest of the quintet and a real classic. Reads like a classic boy's own adventure novel.

Sharpe's Triumph

I'd say this is the most ideal-type Sharpe story in the quintet. There's a fairly compelling plotline with the standard plot device of a false allegation followed by a large battle which takes up about a third of the book and a love interest along the way. If we talk about the slightly formulaic approach Cornwell takes to novels, this is where that comes through. That being said, Pohlmann holds up an intriguing mirror to Sharpe's ambitions and show a different direction he could have taken and I liked his characterisation. Sharpe winning a commission at Assaye is an established part of his biography so the core event in the novel won't surprise anyone reading with any prior knowledge. A solid bread-and-butter contribution, formulaic but well-executed on the whole.

Sharpe's Fortress

In a nutshell this gives us the consequences of the previous novel. Sharpe is unhappy as an Ensign in the 74th Foot, resented by both his soldiers and brother officers. He is shunted off to a supply role where we meet Torrance, who is one of the more obnoxious villains so far in the series. Another recurring plot device rears its head here as we see the first instance of a woman costing Sharpe a portion of his fortune, but it won't be the last. We wrap up India with the first of many primary antagonists to die in a final confrontation (I wouldn't count Tippoo as a true Sharpe villain) and a now-amusing tendency for Sharpe to subject Hakeswill to absurd animal-based death traps with plenty of exposition like a Connery-era Bond villain. 'No Sgt Hakeswill, I expect you to die. Bastard.' would have been too corny as an actual quote but is very much the tone here. Satisfying ends and plenty of character development make this a strong novel.

Sharpe's Trafalgar

On one hand it's complete filler, but I won't write it off. The story itself is mediocre with the 'secret treaty' between France and the Mahrattas lacking any real sense of peril other than giving the Pucelle something to chase but it has two upsides. Firstly, it's a complete change of setting and quite exposition-heavy, but it's a reasonably detailed and engaging portrait of life at sea in this time, for those of us who haven't read any Hornblower or Aubrey-Maturin you will learn a lot. Secondly, the romance plot with Lady Grace is excellently written and has a sense of tragic pathos throughout. I think it's a shame we'll never really see her memory pop up in the books written earlier, because this novel and the next make her influence on Sharpe really clear. I didn't like the murder of Braithwaite which jarred a little with wider characterisation. On the whole, this is middling, it would be somewhat forgettable if not for the nautical theme and Lady Grace.

Sharpe's Prey

Another departure from the formula, reads more as a thriller than anything and I did find it harder to put down, although it is a little shorter than the others. Jem Hocking is a truly despicable figure and his effective characterisation in a short chapter before his comeuppance is a great example of character-driven writing. The book is haunted by Lady Grace and carries a sense of loss throughout, mirrored by Astrid the widow. It has a far darker tone which seems to almost revel in how miserable it can make the protagonist, who eventually finds a chink of hope in Astrid which is brutally taken away again. Again, I would really liked to have seen Lady Grace developed earlier by Cornwell or at least established in the biography so we could have more of her lingering impact later on having established such a strong sense of loss. Two short battle scenes, both essentially minor skirmishes between the British Army and a token Danish resistance, the real action is skullduggery in Copenhagen. On the whole, well-paced and an exciting read and a departure from the formula. Give one bit a miss if you're claustrophobic. Probably the second strongest of the quintet after Tiger but lacks a strong sense of lasting impact.

Into these bastards