Sharpes Fortress

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Gazetted by General Wellesley as a captain after saving the Regimental Colour of the South Essex Battalion at Valdelacasa.

I'm gonna be a broken record, and this was just more of the same completely gripping stuff as the last two books. This is the end to the India arc of the series, and I'm sad at that since it was such tremendous fun going on adventures in this setting that was like a version of the Wild West I never knew existed. Sharpe is often portrayed as the driving force in a number of pivotal historical events. Cornwell admits to taking license with history, placing Sharpe in the place of another man whose identity is lost to history or sometimes "stealing another man's thunder." Such accomplishments include: Struggling to come up with a name as distinctive as Horatio Hornblower, he used a placeholder based on the rugby union player Richard Sharp; eventually, he kept it, just adding an "e". [1] The author had intended to write 11 novels, the same number as in the Hornblower series, ending with Sharpe's Waterloo, but later changed his mind and continued writing. To avoid arrest, Sharpe takes the " King's shilling", joining the 33rd Foot, as a result of the blandishments of recruiting sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. The regiment is first sent to Flanders in 1794, where Sharpe fights in his first battle, at Boxtel. The next year, he and his regiment are posted to India, under the command of the British East India Company.Sharpe's Fortress was published in 1998, and describes the first adventure of Richard Sharpe as an officer of the British Army. Restored to rank of captain in the South Essex Battalion after successfully leading an unofficial forlorn hope to take the third breach of Badajoz and the death of several captains in the Battalion. Grace sets up home with Sharpe at Shorncliffe, but dies giving birth to their child, who survives her by only a few hours. Sharpe's fortune is seized by the lawyers, who believe it to be part of Grace's estate.

There is some minor use of adult language. The main character will swear from time to time but as a rule he tends to avoid it. Sharpe is born to a whore in the rookeries of London. Orphaned at an early age, he grows up in poverty. He is eventually taken in by prostitute (and later bar owner) Maggie Joyce and becomes a thief. He has to flee the city after killing a man to protect Maggie.Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked as a teacher. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia. His intelligence work for Wellesley brings him the long-lasting enmity of the fictional French spymaster Pierre Ducos, who conspires several times to destroy Sharpe's career, reputation or life. Sharpe takes part in a number of notable actions, either with the South Essex or on detached duty for Wellesley's spymaster, Captain Michael Hogan of the Royal Engineers. These include capturing a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Talavera in 1809 (fulfilling a promise to a dying captain he respects), and the storming of the breach at Badajoz. He also takes an active role in the first siege of Almeida, the battles of Bussaco, Barossa, Ciudad Rodrigo, Fuentes de Onoro, Salamanca, Vitoria, and Toulouse. Over this period, he rises in rank from lieutenant to captain to major, eventually taking unofficial command of the entire regiment. Sharpe's Irish friend Harper rises from rifleman to regimental sergeant major. Storming the walls of the inner fortress at Gawilghur and opening the gates to the besieging forces (in reality, this was achieved by Captain Campbell leading the light company of the 94th Scotch Brigade; in the novel, Campbell and his troops are the first to join Sharpe once they realise what he's planning); Cornwell continues to deliver heart-stopping, gritty battle scenes with incredibly high stakes, as well as odious villains and enemies you just love to hate. Combined with people on all sides who are decent and brave, and it's just such a great mixture of characters that keeps the proceedings lively and my emotions invested. This particular battle at the fortress of Gawilghur was so harrowing due to the geography of the setting that it's truly amazing this battle ever happened, and once again it was just a perfect subject for novelization.

It is set in 1803 and Sir Arthur Wellesley’s army is closing on the retreating Mahrattas in western India. Marching with the British is Ensign Richard Sharpe, newly made into an officer and wishing he had stayed a sergeant. Sharpe serves four uneventful years as a sergeant. In 1803, he is the sole survivor of a massacre of the garrison of a small fort carried out by a turncoat Company officer, William Dodd ( Sharpe's Triumph). Because he can identify Dodd, Sharpe is taken along by McCandless on a mission to capture and punish Dodd, to discourage others from deserting. Their search takes them first to battles at Ahmednuggur and then Assaye. Manu Bappoo, the younger brother of the Rajah of Berar, decides to turn around and fight the British again, with his best unit, composed of Arab mercenaries, leading the charge, but he is again routed. During the fighting, Sharpe is impressed by the bravery of a teenage Arab boy, Ahmed, and saves his life when the boy is surrounded. Ahmed becomes his servant. The read lives the battle at Gawilghur. You are made to feel the hopelessness of the task at hand and are treated to masterfully crafted detail of the planning of the assault all the way to the thrilling conclusion. From reading the afterwards, Cornwell gives the impression that the battle of Gawilghur was treated as a minor and insignificant event. This may simply have been a result of the manner in which the battle concluded. If you ever get the chance to rent or buy SHARPE'S CHALLENGE on DVD, by all means take it! The story is a combination of all the adventures from SHARPE'S TIGER, SHARPE'S TRIUMPH, and SHARPE'S FORTRESS, plus they throw in a lot more romance and more interesting female characters who aren't in any of the novels.Cornwall is a master of what Dumas did so brilliantly (and shamelessly) with the three musketeers … namely, have peripheral (never having existed) heroes play key roles in major historical events (or not, as when barely failing to avert the beheading of Charles I by tunneling to beneath his scaffold). Thus, Sharpe brings about the fall of the eponymous fortress of this third volume almost singlehandedly—a ghost from the fictional future assuring the actual future career of the Duke of Wellington…. All this takes a certain letting go of disbelief … but no real complaint, as I did this long ago with the divine Dumas. urn:lcp:sharpesfortressr00corn:epub:605578e9-face-4978-bf2a-81bc76501358 Extramarc Brown University Library Foldoutcount 0 Identifier sharpesfortressr00corn Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t7tm9ph56 Invoice 11 Isbn 9780060194246 Sharpe is described as "brilliant but wayward" in Sharpe's Sword, and he is portrayed by the author as a "loose cannon". He becomes a highly skilled and experienced leader of light troops. In contrast to the honourable Horatio Hornblower, the inspiration for the series, Sharpe is a rogue, an unabashed thief and murderer who has no qualms about killing a bitter enemy when the opportunity arises. However, he is protective of women in general and has a number of lovers over the course of his life.