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Sharpe's Fury
Richard Sharpe & the Battle of Barrosa, March 1811 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #11)
First published 2006 · 576 pages
A gritty, gunpowder-laced plunge into the desperate sieges and political back-alleys of the Napoleonic Wars.
What it feels like
This propulsive historical adventure plunges readers straight into the gunpowder-choked air and tense political maneuvering of the Napoleonic Wars. The mood is relentlessly embattled, balancing the claustrophobic dread of a besieged city with the gritty, street-level danger of blackmail and espionage. Readers will feel the sharp contrast between the polished halls of political rivalry and the brutal reality of the battlefield, anchored by a rugged, working-class hero who navigates both with pragmatic grit. The prose is action-oriented and historically immersive, capturing the desperate adrenaline of outnumbered soldiers and the fierce loyalty of military brotherhood. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave high-stakes military history laced with suspense, where survival depends as much on alleyway brawls as it does on grand tactical maneuvers.
- Mood
- tense
- embattled
- perilous
- action-packed
- Tone
- adventurous
- gritty
- suspenseful
- dramatic
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- military brotherhood · political intrigue · survival against the odds · class divides
- The writing
- Action-oriented and historically grounded, delivering sharp military details alongside street-level grit.
- The arc
- Moves from tense political maneuvering in besieged alleys to the desperate, high-stakes adrenaline of a trapped military engagement.
- Who it's for
- Fans of immersive, battle-heavy historical fiction who love a rugged, working-class hero navigating both high-society politics and brutal warfare.
Content notes
- military violence
- warfare
- blackmail
- mentions of sex work
About the book
For more than twenty years, Richard Sharpe, the brave and dashing officer who rose from rags on the street to a commission in his majesty's army, has been thrilling audiences on both the page and on screen. Now the incomparable Bernard Cornwell ("the greatest writer of historical novels today"*) returns with a thrilling new installment—the first new Sharpe novel in more than two years.The year is 1811. With the British army penned into a small part of Portugal, and all of Spain fallen to the invader except for the coastal city of Cadiz, the French appear to have won their war. Captain Richard Sharpe has no business being in Cadiz, but when an attack on a French-held bridge goes disastrously wrong, Sharpe—accompanied by Harper, his loyal Irish sergeant, and the obnoxious Brigadier Moon—finds himself in a city under French siege. It is also a town riven by political rivalry. Some Spaniards believe their country's future would be best served if they broke their alliance with Britain and forged a friendship with Napoleon's France; their cause is only strengthened when some letters written to a prostitute by the British ambassador fall into their possession. They resort to blackmail, and Sharpe, raised in the gutters of London and taught to fight, is released into the alleys of Cadiz to find the woman and retrieve the letters.Yet defeating the blackmailers will not save the city. That is up to the charismatic Scotsman, Sir Thomas Graham, who takes a small British force o attack the French siege lines. The attack goes horribly wrong; Sir Thomas's outnumbered army is trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea, and on a March morning, at Barrosa, Richard Sharpe finds himself embroiled in one of the most desperate infantry struggles ever fought. Sir Thomas has his own reasons for revenge, as does Sharpe, who goes into battle seeking the French colonel who precipitated the disaster that stranded Sharpe in Cadiz. In a bloody and stirring battle, Sharpe and the English get their revenge and their victory, but at a terrible cost. A triumph of both historical and battle fiction, Sharpe's Fury will sweep both old and new Sharpe fans into their hero's incredible adventures.
Description from Open Library.
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