Just Finished Reading: Sharpe’s Fury by Bernard Cornwell (FP: 2006) [371pp]

Cadiz, Spain 1811. Only the single port of Cadiz remains free from French occupation. In its parliament arguments rage as to the way ahead. One faction wants to take up the offer of continued British help and retake their country. The other wants to make an accommodation with Napoleon and move with France against the British. The balance is delicate. Britain needs to victory to show the Spanish that they can beat the seemingly unstoppable French armies. The last thing Britain needs is a diplomatic scandal but one is about to break and throw everything into chaos. The head of the British delegation in Cadiz has been foolish – very foolish. He has become entangled with a beautiful woman (who is not his wife) and has even more foolishly sent her compromising letters that have fallen into the hands of Britain’s enemies in the Spanish parliament. Enter Richard Sharpe. Tasked with recovering the letters he is told he must be discrete, that he must not under any circumstances cause a diplomatic incident, that he must not threaten, harm or kill anyone and that he must respect Spanish property. Fortunately the death and destruction that usually follows Sharpe like an over attentive puppy will be forgiven – just so long as his mission is successful.

This is quite a different Sharpe novel than I’ve been used to lately (my 17^th I believe). Although there is a small skirmish at the beginning and a few short encounters early on, along with a much bigger battle at the end which Sharpe and his men are only tangentially involved in, most of the story takes place in Cadiz itself with Sharpe acting ‘covertly’ or at least as covertly as Sharpe can. He’s picked for the mission because he’s the only man available that the higher-ups can trust. So he does his best – which is, as both the reader and Wellington knows only too well – is very good indeed. It’s just that Richard is a bit more direct than most of his superiors would like. As usual in these tales Sharpe has a bumbling senior officer who tries to do him harm – at least as far as his career goes – and some ‘love interest’ which, as usual is well handled and often funny. The dialogue is sparkling and adds a whole additional level to the fun of reading Cornwell’s work. Although not really a stellar example of a Sharpe novel this is a solid piece of historical/Napoleonic fiction and is much fun to read. Once again I am reminded that most of my knowledge of the Peninsular War is derived from Sharpe novels. I really need to address that at some point! Recommended.