16th in the Richard Sharpe series.

Sharpe’s Honor does not depend so much on battle scenes (although there is one) for its excitement as it does on the ability of Sharpe to get himself involved in impossible, self-destructive situations thanks to his low flash-point temper and his never-failing lust for women. This time, he fights a duel (strictly against Wellington’s general orders), is accused of, tried for, and hanged for the murder of a Spanish grandee he did not commit, thanks to the enmity of his archenemy, the perfidious Major Duclos of French Intelligence.

Sharpe being Sharpe, he manages to outlive the noose with a little help from his friends. But his honor has been impugned and just as bad, after his conviction, he has been stripped of his precious commission. To regain both, he must play a game for which he is temperamentally unsuited—that of spy. In doing so, he matches wits with Duclos; their encounter in the castle of Burgosis one of the highlights of the book.

Naturally a beautiful woman is involved, and naturally Sharpe will be present at one of Wellington’s most notable victories, the Battle of Vitoria, where he crushed an entire French army (with Sharpe’s help at the crucial moment, of course).

Not quite as engaging as some of his earlier (chronologically) books, this still is an excellent read and moves Sharpe forward on his way to Waterloo. Cornwell’s Historical Note is as usual outstanding. Highly recommended. ( )

One of the better Sharpe tales in which he must track down a renegade mercenary and a French spy who has defamed him - all while presumed to be dead. ( )