Waterloo

I appreciated this as a window on the famous 1815 battle, with Sharpe a Zellig-like figure at key turning points. However, I missed Sharpe’s personal story as the main focus of the narrative rather than getting a sense of him being used as a tool to illustrate historical events. If you have read any Leggi tutto

Book 20 in the Richard Sharpe series. A bit of a change in the story narrative this time, the last 19 books have been more concerned with the life and times of Richard Sharpe with a battle of some importance as a back drop. But this time the narrative is well and truly about the battle of Waterloo wi Leggi tutto

I'd advise not reading the author's note at the end of the book, because it tips the novel's John Bull-ishness right over the edge into jingoism. The body of the book is hardly great literature, but it's enjoyable--it could have been edited down, but as a dubiously-historical recounting of Waterloo

Firstly, my prejudices - I've been a huge fan of the TV versions of the Sharpe books; I've been an even bigger fan of the Napoleonic Wars, and Waterloo in particular - I've probably read more on and around the subject than is healthy for anyone. Although I've never actually read a Bernard Cornwell no Leggi tutto

Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles This is the actual book that I read and reviewed here. What is shown in the header is Cornwell's 20th Sharpe novel ... This is the first non-fiction book by Bernard Cornwell, but he brings all the talent that he has honed over the Leggi tutto

Some of my favourite Sharpe moments are in this book, and some quality comedy from when Sharpe is busy elsewhere. I don't know how accurate the battle descriptions are, but they are vivid. I do believe that this book will work as a standalone novel, there's enough background to catch you up, but whe Leggi tutto

As well written as ever. The boys own adventure delivers the thrills made all the better by the historical detail and nuance.

Ačkoliv je to popis nebo spíš analýza bitvy, toho, co jí předcházelo a jejích následků, bez osobního příběhu, je to napsáno hodně čtivě. Fakta doplněná vzpomínkami vojáků ze všech tří armád jsou jasně vyprávěna. Snad jen toho polopatického opakování hlavních faktů by mohlo být méně (pravděpodobně pr Leggi tutto

The 20th Sharpe novel delves into the famous battle of Waterloo and pretty much nothing else. This time around, Sharpe serves in the staff of the Prince of Orange fighting the war against Napoleon. The author goes to great lengths to justify Sharpe's presence in the lead-up engagement and then in th Leggi tutto

I'd suspected that SHARPE'S WATERLOO, the penultimate Sharpe adventure and the culmination of his adventures in the Napoleonic War, could be nothing but a triumph. After all, it's a novel dedicated to one of the biggest, most-remembered battles in all of history, so how could Cornwell get it wrong?