Marching Again

Sharpe's Fury, by Bernard Cornwell. The latest installment in Cornwell's fantastic Sharpe series sees Richard Sharpe, a rifleman in the 95th Regiment of King George's Army during the Napoleonic Wars, and his faithful Sergeant Harper back in Spain in 1811, as the French besiege Cádiz, the last refuge of the Spanish government allied with England. Spain is almost entirely under French control, despite partisans harassing Napoleon's troops every chance they get, and British presence on the Iberian is soon to be almost fully relegated to Portugal.

The bulk of the novel is one of political intrigue, and follows Sharpe and Harper on a secret mission to retrieve stolen letters from a corrupt Spanish priest working for an admiral who has a lot of influence in the factious Spanish government. There are loyalists who wish to see Spain under the rule of a Catholic monarch, without a representative assembly. There are also those who believe it is in Spain's best interest to ally with Napoleon, whose growing hegemony in Europe appears to be the winning side, contrasted with England's weakening position on the Continent. The letters are to be used to blackmail England's ambassador to Spain, Henry Wellesley, the brother of Sir Arthur Wellesley, Lord Wellington (a man indebted to Sharpe for saving his life in India). If published, the letters might cause enough of a shift in the political landscape and give support to monarchists who are pro-Bonaparte. Sharpe and his small band of riflemen (separated from his regiment in the beginning of the book due to a botched operation) are instructed by Henry to purchase, steal, destroy, or otherwise negate the threat of the letters being published. Most of the novel concerns this secret mission of Sharpe, as he relies on his skills as an ex-thief, ex-murderer, and one of the best soldiers in His Majesty's Army.

South of Cádiz is the small village of Barrosa. A combined force of British and Spanish troops are assembling in the area in an effort to break the siege; success would alleviate pressure on the Allied forces and perhaps save the complete loss of Spain. However, the Allies are outnumbered and split, and victory under the cowardly commander La Pena will be a difficult prospect. Of course, Sharpe finds himself once again in the thick of the action.

Barrosa was actually a fairly minor, strategically indecisive battle in the Peninsular War, but Cornwell pens it as an exciting, desperate action relying on the bravery of a few individuals (Sharpe included, of course) for victory.

For fans of Cornwell's Sharpe series, this is an enjoyable installment. It's somewhere in the middle in terms of quality - not his best, but certainly not his worst. Bernard Cornwell is a tremendous writer at his best, and he is great at capturing the flavor and excitement of the battlefields of the early 19th century. If you are entirely unfamiliar with Sharpe, I'd recommend picking up the first book in the series, although it can certainly stand alone as a novel. The strength of Cornwell's main character really only comes out with exposure to the series as a whole. For fans of historical fiction, especially military, I'd recommend this series almost before any other. It is to a large degree Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, although on land (and without the erudition of O'Brian's pen). It's informative, entertaining, and quite accessible to most readers, as it lacks the higher quality writing of Cornwell's amazing King Arthur trilogy, where he shines in terms of creative writing within a less constrained historical context.

The crackle of musketry will be all too familiar to Sharpe fans in Sharpe's Fury, and have no fear: Sharpe and Harper will march again.