Sharpes Books

A Bloody Good Read

Sharpe's Regiment

Sharpes Regiment 1813, England.
Published: 20 January 1986

ISBN 0-00-221430-X (first edition, hardback)
Sharpes Regiment gets 4.5 Stars A gripping tale of intrigue

Sharpe's Regiment still remains one of my favoriteRichard Sharpe novels for reasons that do not always relate directly to the book. Firstly we need to thank the excellent TV adaptation of this particular book which unlike many of the earlier adaptations sees no need to deviate from Bernard Cornwell's excellent storyline.

It may also be in part to me having a little bit of a thing for Lady Anne, she may be a bad girl, but she definitely a bad girl you want on your side.

Coming back to book however there are many reasons to like this, firstly the change of scenery is refreshing. This books reeks of gloomy, green wet England . We get Bernard's subtle but well researched insights into the disparities in mainland (?) Britain in the napoleonic era.

The change of scenery brings a welcome change of plot and enemy and allies, though it also does bring back to old friends in Sir William Law ford and Sir Henry Simmerson. With the new cast Colonel Girdwood is the kind of officer you would love to hate, a sniveling piece of dung of a man. In Lady Anne we have an ally to admire, but maybe she is a little to close to Helen Leroux to be considered a truly original character. In Jane Gibbons I fail to see what Sharpe's sees in such a vapid, lifeless weak individual? Is he so riddled with guilt over the death of her brother Lieutenant Christian Gibbons? Is he so fixed on being the hero and rescuing the maiden that he fails to see she is a heartless, blood sucking vampire?

The plot is crisp and direct, told with pace and vigor. The characterization is bold, leaving little room for subtlety, but unlike the black and white moral certainties of war in Spain , we find decisions on who is a hero and who is a villain slide in to murkier realms of political gray. We catch glimpses of Sharpe's early life and old friends, but somehow it seems too rosy to sometimes believe.

In the novel our hero Major Sharpe moves from being on top of things to being in a bind more time than I would care to remember but the plot builds wonderfully toward its crescendo, tension is kept right till the very end, and the last play of cards was not particularly expected.

Synopsis

After the South Essex is depleted in the battles of 1813 in southern France, reinforcements from the second battalion are refused, and the very existence of Sharpe's regiment is threatened. Richard Sharpe heads quickly to London to find out what has happened to the 2nd battalion , and finding frustration and intrigue at Horseguards and the royal court feels he needs to head to Chelmesford to find his missing battalion. Helped by the mysterious and by no means unattractive Lady Anne.

This he does by enlisting as a private, and then having to gather the evidence of Henry Simmersons wrong doing. He escapes from the boot camp, to return in his full rank to set things straight. This heads to climax of the story as Sharpe heads to London to prove the wrong doing, and save his regiment, before dark forces in Horseguards can shut him down.

Sharpe's Regiment - Main Characters

Captain Richard Sharpe
Regimental Sergeant Major Patrick Harper
Major Michael Hogan
Lord Fenner
Lt Colonel Henry Simmerson
Lt Colonel Girdwood
Lady Anne Camoynes
Jane Gibbons
Angel