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Loading... Sharpe's Waterloo (1990)by Bernard Cornwell
Historical Fiction (225) THE WAR ROOM (664) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Well, the final battle of the Napoleonic campaigns has finally come to fruition with the return of Napoleon from his exile on Elba. Sharpe had though himself safely retired from the military life with his French companion on their farm but when the call came (and a 'promotion' to Lieutenant Colonel to sweeten the deal), he reluctantly returns to the Colours where he immediately regrets his return when he finds himself babysitting the 20 year old heir to the Dutch throne who thought himself to be such a great commander. Never has Sharpe's contempt towards those fate had set in command over him been so sharply (sorry!) felt. However richly deserved the contempt might have been, the Prince is about as an Important Person as could be imagined (at least in his own eyes) and with the British veterans busy burning Washington in the War of 1812 over in North America, the Duke of Wellington's men are somewhat inexperienced as they face the legend of the French Grande Armée. It's possible that there might be battles that have been 'done' more often than Waterloo, but there can't be many but along with Sharpe's 'attitude' and his historical research, Cornwell manages to keep things fresh even after so many years and despite being a reasonably long book, I managed to finish it in an engrossed single sitting http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2482966.html Sharpe's Waterloo is the culmination of an eleven-book series of novels about a British officer during the Napoleonic wars. It was recommended to me by Professor Brendan Simms, author of The Longest Afternoon, a factual treatment of the fighting around La Haye Sainte during the battle. I've read two other books by Cornwell, but none of the other Sharpe books, nor have I seen any of the TV series starring Sean Bean (I understand that, unlike some of the other things I've seen him in, he survives to the end). It concentrates very much on the few days leading up to and immediately following the battle, with Sharpe attached to the Prince of Orange, dealing with his own lover, his estranged wife, his arch-enemy (who is his estranged wife's lover), also the incompetence of his superiors, and the little matter of Napoleon's troops. Cornwell gives Sharpe licence to gallop around the battlefield to see what is going on at all stages, and he actually (of course) plays a crucial role in two minor but well-known historical footnotes. I had expected to enjoy it a bit more than I did. Too many of the characters were fairly flat - the Dutch Prince and the ex-wife's lover are just awful, and there is a story about the Prussian chief of staff, Gneisenau, deliberately delaying Blücher's arrival, which I haven't seen elsewhere. And there was a bit of a sense that after the previous ten books building up to this, Cornwell was himself eagerly anticipating the saga being over (though it did' stop him writing further prequels and sequels). It's no huge surprise that virtue triumphs and evil gets its just desserts, in Sharpe's personal life as well as on the battlefield. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesSharpe's Adventures: Chronological order (21: 1815) Is contained inHas the adaptationHas as a reference guide/companionAwardsNotable Lists
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HTML: With the emperor Napoleon at its head, an enormous French army is marching toward Brussels. The British and their allies are also converging on Brussels-in preparation for a grand society ball. And it is up to Richard Sharpe to convince the Prince of Orange, the inexperienced commander of Wellington's Dutch troops, to act before it is too late. But Sharpe's warning cannot stop the tide of battle, and the British suffer heavy losses on the road to Waterloo. Wellington has few reserves of men and ammunition; the Prussian army has not arrived; and the French advance wields tremendous firepower and determination. Victory seems impossible... In this, the culmination of Richard Sharpe's long and arduous career, bernard Cornwell brings to life all the horror-and all the exhilaration-of one of the greatest military triumphs of all time. .No library descriptions found. |
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I usually am not a big fan of historical military fiction yet Cornwell does a excellent job in these Sharpe books making for a compelling reading experience. He paints a rather vivid picture of the reckless disregard for soldiers lives back in the day, and also captures the routine looting of the injured and dead that occurred on the battlefields during these days. ( )