Sharpe's Eagle [Import] [Paperback]

Bernard Cornwell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; New Ed edition (April 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000717974X
• ISBN-13: 978-0007179749
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Bernard Cornwell was born in London in 1944 - a 'warbaby' - whose father was a Canadian airman and mother in Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted by a family in Essex who belonged to a religious sect called the Peculiar People (and they were), but escaped to London University and, after a stint as a teacher, he joined BBC Television where he worked for the next 10 years. He began as a researcher on the Nationwide programme and ended as Head of Current Affairs Television for the BBC in Northern Ireland. It was while working in Belfast that he met Judy, a visiting American, and fell in love. Judy was unable to move to Britain for family reasons so Bernard went to the States where he was refused a Green Card. He decided to earn a living by writing, a job that did not need a permit from the US government - and for some years he had been wanting to write the adventures of a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars - and so the Sharpe series was born. Bernard and Judy married in 1980, are still married, still live in the States and he is still writing Sharpe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Start to an Engaging Historical Adventure Series., June 26, 2001

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sharpe's Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809 (Paperback)

Set around the Talevera campaign of July 1809, this first installment in the Sharpe saga deploys all the elements found throughout Cornwell's entertaining Napoleonic War series: the friendship between Sharpe and the Irish Sgt. Harper, their bravery and cunning, the ignorance and arrogance that pervaded the foppish upper class officer corps, a beautiful woman, and rousing battle scenes. Cornwell uses this first book to firmly establish the absence of meritocracy in the British army of the time, as armchair commander Simmerson needlessly leads the South Essex (including Sharpe and his Riflemen) into a debacle in which they lose the King's Colours, thus disgracing the whole army. Also clearly established is the tension between Cpt. Sharpe, who was promoted from the enlisted ranks for an act of heroism, and the upper class officer corps, who paid for their rank, irrespective of any actual military knowledge or ability. Simmerson and his toadying nephew Lt. Gibbons attempt to place the blame for the rout on Sharpe, and his only hope to save his rank is to perform an outrageous act of courage in battle at Talevera. Meanwhile, there's a beautiful Spanish woman he rescues from Gibbons and a crony, whose honor he must avenge. All is resolved at the Talevera, as Cornwell clearly and crisply recounts the military maneuvering on both a macro and micro level without getting overly technical. Also introduced in the book are Major Hogan, the Irish engineer who develops over the series into Lord Wellington's spy, as well as Lord Wellington himself, who is fond of Sharpe, but not hesitant to use his deadly skills. Above all, Sharpe is presented as a full action hero, strong, smart, roguishly handsome, honorable, deadly and ruthless. A perfect start to an engaging historical adventure series.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I lost sleep over this book., January 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sharpe's Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809 (Paperback)

To be honest I am a confirmed fan of the works of Bernard Cornwell, including both the Sharpe series about the peninsular war against Napoleon, and the Copperhead series about the American Civil War. Sharpe's Eagle is the first of the Sharpe books written by Cornwell, though chronologically it does not come first. This is where he first introduced the charachter and his fellow riflemen to the world, hard-bitten, tough fighters to a man. We are shown how clever Sharpe is, what a good soldier, how loyal to his men and how contemptuous he is of superior officers who bought their commands and didn't earn them. I thouroughly enjoyed the book, following Sharpe's trials as he tries to keep an impossible promise made to a dying officer. As I said in my summary, I lost sleep over this book, and do not recommend it to anyone who has things to do.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe's Eagle: Cornwell's best of the Sharpe series., July 17, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Stratford, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharpe's Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809 (Paperback)

Sharpe's Eagle details how our hero, Richard Sharpe, along with Patrick Harper capture the first French Eagle, a french standard, in the heat of battle to redeam the demoralized South Essex regiment who early in the novel lose one of their colors due to the bumbling of Col. Henry Simmerson. Sharpe utilizes this heroic act to save his career and gain a fame that gains him a place in the heart of even the Prince of Wales. A must read for any Sharpe fan and probably one of Cornwell's best novel's of all time!