Sharpe's Prey

We last saw Sharpe improbably serving as an honorary marine on board a fictional substitute for the ship that came to Admiral Nelson's rescue at a crucial stage of the sea battle at Trafalgar, a hilariously contrived plot in which to find our infantry bastard-hero but still jolly good fun. Sharpe's India adventures thus came to a rollicking closure, and Europe beckons....

As Sharpe's Prey opens, though, Europe, or at least England, has not exactly welcomed our man with open arms -- even though he came home from India a wealthy man (booty and jewels a-plenty!) and an officer to boot. If only that had been all. If only. But alas, the soap opera/shipboard romance/adultery plot that rounded out Sharpe's Trafalgar had its consequences. The show more upper class hasn't stayed upper by being kind to upstarts like Sharpe, after all. So it is a penniless, cranky, hopeless Sharpe whom we find wandering the streets of London, not even soldiering really as the Rifles regiment to which he was sent has the same prejudice against officers promoted from the ranks as everybody else, and they've made a quartermaster of him. We're off to battle; clean up the barracks, there's a good fellow.

Thank goodness some other good folk returned to England ahead of him, who think well of him as a man of action and effectiveness. Such is Colonel (now General) Baird, whose bacon Sharpe saved in Sharpe's Tiger (at the Siege of Seringapatam), and who, it turns out, has been looking for him for a while, for a special mission in which Sharpe shall become a secret agent!

Well, hey, honorary marine, secret agent, not that far of a leap, eh wot?

Soon Sharpe is heading off to glamorous, sunny, uh, Denmark, in the company of a mysterious half-Danish captain, on a mission to prevent the Danes from letting Napoleon have their navy to replace what he lost at Trafalgar. Pretty straightforward, right? Oh, except this captain is a complete bastard in the evil Major Dodd mode. Um. If a man is definied by the quality of his enemies, well, Sharpe is a most fascinating fellow, isn't he? And one who is never more dangerous than when he is completely screwed.

But so most of the action in this book takes place during Britain's 1807 attack on Denmark, which included a land skirmish the Danes remember as the "battle of the wooden shoes" (because so many of those fighting for the Danes were farmer/militiamen who wore those famous Danish clogs to battle) and several days of intense bombardment of the city of Copenhagen. Which is to say everything takes a bit of a darker tone, as a question that looms through the first two-thirds of the novel is whether Britain actually will bomb the city, which is full of women and children.

I don't recall Sharpe or anyone else worrying so much about civilian bystanders in India.

The bombing campaign itself -- shells and mortar rounds fired from huge wallowing British "bomb ships" in Copenhagen's outer harbor -- is described in harrowing detail, enough so to where it might make some readers queasy (as might depictions of how a spymaster gets interrogated by French agents. Pliers and teeth are involved. Ack). There are no strategic maneuvers to trace out on a map here; it's just brute force and siege warfare. It ain't pretty, but that's the way it was, and is. As Sharpe observes to himself as he sails away from the scene of his latest strange adventures, it's a soldier's world, and Sharpe is a soldier, and while he had plenty on his conscience before his Scandinavian tour, he's learned there was plenty more where that came from, and more still to come, for soon he'll be off to the Peninsula (as in Spain and Portugal) and even more war!

Lord, I do love Sharpe. Reading about him that is. I don't think I'd want to meet him in person. No. No, that wouldn't be very nice at all. show less

Ah, Sharpie. Our hero is grieving the loss of his love Lady Grace, their child, all his money and the fact that his new rank means that he's despised as an upstart. To get over his troubles, he engages in a bit of vengeful murder and theft, some daring espionage/spy work, and the romancing of a charming Danish widow, whose disapproving father happens to be a British agent in denial about his own peril. This occurs during the regretable siege and fire bombing of Copenhagen by the British in 1807. If I hadn't visited Copenhagen last year I might have believed that Cornwell had exaggerated the level of destruction. It is today a beautiful city and though the rest of the world may have forgotten this shameful assault, the Danes are still show more talking about it. Cornwell did his research. Clouter makes an appearance, though missing a few fingers, and we briefly meet the future Sgt. Harper stealing a chicken. Although Sharpe doesn't save the city, or in the long run the lady, he manages to replenish his pockets and impresses enough of the right people that his career is certainly about to take off. show less

This is the fifth (chronologically...they were published in a different order) in Cornwell's series about Richard Sharpe, a soldier in the British infantry during the Napoleonic Wars. As the subtitle says, this episode occurs during the British invasion of Copenhagen in 1807, a seldom-remembered event. Denmark possesses the second most powerful navy in existence after Trafalgar destroyed the French fleet. The Danes are neutral in the wars and have taken their fleet and moored it up in Copenhagen's harbor, refusing to allow either side to use it.

As our story opens, the French have just concluded the Treaty of Tilsit with Russia, one whose provisions states that the Russians will turn a blind eye toward a French move to seize the Danish show more fleet. The British cannot afford to allow this and demand that Denmark moor the fleet in England for safe-keeping. The Danes refuse. In response, the British attack Copenhagen, shelling—tactics that presage the horrors of warfare a century later—the civilian population of the city with thousands of explosive and incendiary rounds in order to break the Danish will and force them to yield the ships.

Richard Sharpe is sent into this volatile situation in advance on a mission as a bodyguard for Captain Lavisser, who has orders to follow up on intelligence that the Danish Crown Prince is amenable to a bribe. Of course, the reader is aware from an opening scene that this intelligence was faked by Lavisser himself who is a French agent and intends to abscond with the £43,000 in gold while opening the city to the French. What follows is an exciting ride through intrigues, betrayals and battles. This book packs a bit more punch than the previous, where Sharpe's actions were somewhat constrained by being at sea.

The overall tone of the book is not as up-beat as some of the earlier stories. When Sharpe enters the book, we learn immediately that Grace died in childbirth and Sharpe is left rudderless: he cannot deal with her absence; he had spent his fortune on property for the family they were starting, only to lose it to her family's lawyers afterwards; he does not fit in as an officer because of his background and sees no future in the Army. The subplot of this story is Sharpe coming to terms with all of this, emerging at the end still sad, but able to let Grace go and throw himself back into life an infanty officer. In addition to Sharpe's personal troubles, new layers (darker layers) are added to his personality as he watches, appalled, the slaughter of the helpless Danes, full of contempt for those who make strategic policy.

A good read. show less

This has been sitting on my Mt TBR pile for a very long time – as best I can recall, at least eight years. I’m not even sure now where I got it from, but I vaguely recall someone giving it to me after I’d been raving over one of Cornwell’s more mainstream historical novels. Suffice to say, it is not the sort of thing I would normally read.

So picture last Sunday – raining, cold and miserable. I planned on settling in for a read in front of the fire, and maybe a nanna nap. I’ve just finished a run of quite large and heavy fantasy books and wanted something light from a different genre. Not sure why this one was what I picked after such a long time, but fate moves in mysterious ways.

‘Sharpe's Prey’ takes place in 1807, a show more couple of years after the British navy destroyed the French at Trafalgar. Along the way. We learn that Sharpe played an integral role in that engagement too. An old friend sends Sharpe as hired muscle on an important mission to Copenhagen. The Danes, though neutral, had the second-largest fleet in Europe, and the Brits learned that through a super-secret treaty, the Russian emperor gave Napoleon the Danish fleet. (Just think of the arrogance of the Russian and French leaders - giving away a fleet that wasn't theirs!)

So Sharpe is charged with escorting a British agent and 43,000 guineas to Copenhagen as an inducement to the Danes to keep their fleet out of Napoleon's hands. Unfortunately for Sharpe, the British agent is a dastardly and lethal fellow named Lavisser, who has no intention of giving up 43,000 guineas or of letting Sharpe get in his way.

The main focus of the tale is on one of the black marks in British history, the firebombing of Copenhagen. As one can expect, the Danes resisted the British overtures and wanted to remain sovereign (recognizing the British offer for what it was). Soon Sharpe is in over his head in a world of spies and double crosses all while the English invade Denmark. What follows is a tale of love, revenge and war, culminated by the British bombardment of Copenhagen, a little remembered event in world history.

Sharpe seems like an early 19th century James Bond, always getting into and out of near-impossible situations, and always seeming to find a beautiful woman to share some time with him.

Cornwell is a master writer in style, depth of characters, and especially in his meticulous research of the period he is writing about. He has a gift for developing little known events in history and embroidering real events and people with people and scenarios he creates. If learning history was always this much fun, I would have paid much more attention at school!

I finished this in one sitting – and skipped the nap all together! I understand this is the 18th book in the Sharpe series. Guess I have a lot of catching up to do. show less

#5 in the Richard Sharpe series.

It's 1807, and Sharpe is broke and bitter. After returning to England after the Batle of Trafalgar, he and Lady Grace Hale began living together. But the class difference between them led to social disapproval and shunning. When Lady Grace died in childbirth, leaving Sharpe stricken with grief, the family's lawyers descended like a pack of vultures and stripped Sharpe of all his property, leaving him destitute into the bargain. In addition, he still has not integrated well into the Rifles; the company captain relegates Sharpe to the menial and boring task of quartermaster.

Desperate, feeling that his fortunes can go no lower, Sharpe plans and carries out a daring robbery of a man he hates more than anyone show more else in the world--the head of the orphanage in which Sharpe grew up. Sharpe intends to take the money and desert from the army.

Hiding in a tavern to escape pursuit, Sharpe suddenly is accosted by Major General Sir David Baird, a Scotsman whose life he saved during the storming of the fortress of Seringapatam in India. Baird has been searching for Sharpe, since Sharpe is exactly the person that Baird thinks can handle an unusual and dangerous assignment: escorting Foot Gruads' Captain Lavisser to Copenhagen, Denmark on a mission to prevent the French from capturing Denmark's navy--by means of a bribe.

The errand seems simple, but Sharpe does not reckon on treachery. Trapped in Copenhagen and a hunted man, he enters a series of adventures that ends with the brutal bombardment of Copenhagen's civilian population by the British, possibly the first instance of deliberate warfare on a civilian population to achieve military ends.

In this installment is the first appearance of Lord Pumphrey, and effeminate-seeming but subtle and powerful member of the Foreign Office. Those who have read the Aubrey-Maturin series will remember Sir Joseph Blaine, Stephen Maturin's contact and a decent person. However, Blaine refers to other types in the Foreign Office, and Pumphreys is definitely one of the "others"--ruthless and remorseless behind a smiling and foppish exterior.

The bombardment of Copenhagen is described in detail and leaves nothing to the imagination in terms of the suffering of the civilian population.

As usual, Cornwell has done his research and history comes alive in another very well-written book in this excellent series. Highly recommended. show less

My wife & I watched half a dozen of the movies made from these books back in the mid 90's & liked them. I never got around to reading the books, though. Last year, I somehow stumbled across this one & finally got around to reading it. I waited too long! I'm going to get more of them, starting with the first.

The book was grittier than the movies were, but very well written. Sharpe isn't the nicest guy, but when you find out where he came from & what he's put up with, he's a good man. He's tough & resourceful, but hampered by both his birth & the society in which he lives - England around 1800. The books seem to be historically accurate as far as the major events go. This fictionalized version gave me a great view of the times & an show more understanding of events that a dry text never would. I highly recommend them & the movies.

Here is a good web site that gives more information on all the Sharpe books & movies:
http://sharpe.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page show less

Sharpe is a great hero. Thirty rats ago I read all the Sharpe books. It’s great to get acquainted with them. This is a story of a conflict between Denmark and Britain during the Napoleanic wars. Britain wanted to keep the Danish fleet away from the French. Sharpe was attached to a man whose job it was to bribe the Danish monarch so he would consent to surrendering his navy to the Brits. The bribe failed and stolen by the man holding it he also tried to kill Sharpe. Sharpe finds a new love and goes after the man who tried to kill him.