Sharpe's Fury (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #11)

Bernard Cornwell

ISBN 10: 0060841621 ISBN 13: 9780060841621

Publisher: HarperAudio, 2006

Synopsis

The year is 1811 and the French appear to have won their war in Portugal and Spain, with Spain fallen to the invader except for the sea-wrapped city of Cadiz. Captain Richard Sharpe has no business being in Cadiz, but an attack on a French held bridge goes disastrously wrong and Sharpe finds himself in a city under French siege and political rivalry. Some Spaniards believe their country's future would he best served by forging a friendship with Napoleon's France, and their cause is helped when some letters, written to a whore by the British ambassador, fall into their possession. They resort to blackmail, and Sharpe is released into the alleys of Cadiz to find the whore 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 army to attack the French siege lines. The attack goes horribly wrong, Sir Thomas's outnumbered army is trapped, and Richard Sharpe finds himself embroiled in one of the most desperate infantry struggles ever to have been fought. 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.

Performed by Paul McGann

About this title

From the Back Cover:

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 Cádiz, the French appear to have won their war. Captain Richard Sharpe has no business being in Cádiz, 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 Napoléon'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 Cádiz 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 Cádiz. 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.

About the Author:

BERNARD CORNWELL is the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales series, which includes The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song, The Burning Land, Death of Kings, The Pagan Lord, and, most recently, The Empty Throne and Warriors of the Storm, and which serves as the basis for the hit television series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060841621
• ISBN 13: 9780060841621
• Binding: Audio CD