Sharpe's Honour (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #16) [Paperback]

Bernard Cornwell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins; paperback / softback edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007660081
• ISBN-13: 978-0007660087
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,609,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The surreal Sharpe, November 18, 2002

By 

Matthew P. Ward (Greer, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) (Paperback)

This is the odd man out in the series (so far), which is a nice change. For much of the novel, Sharpe is out of the army, without Harper or Hogan, and on the run, trying to clear his name and win back his officer's commission.

The scene where Sharpe rescues his lover, a onetime French spy, from a nunnery is the funniest writing in the series so far (eight books and counting). And when a fortuitous explosion frees him from the French, the description of Sharpe wandering away, drunken and dazed, from the burning castle is surreal.

For anyone who thinks Sharpe is a one-dimensional hero character, Sharpe's Honor shows Sharpe's many weaknesses: his inability to sidestep a ruinous challenge to his honor; his blind obsession with a woman who is at best, fickle, at worst, treacherous; his destructive self-pity.

This novel concentrates on the interior worlds of Sharpe and other characters more than earlier books have. It's illuminating to see the battle of Vittoria from so many viewpoints. And Cornwell continues to show that truth is stranger than fiction by taking incidents that really happened, such as the bizarre looting of the French baggage train, and weaving them into the story.

Sharpe's Honor is another strong entry in the series.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Story and Loads of Fun, August 27, 2001

By 

"p_trabaris" (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) (Paperback)

Sharpe's Honor by Bernard Cornwell is an exciting adventure story. Please note spoilers as follows. Major Sharpe is challenged to a duel by a Spanish General and is nearly hanged for his trouble. Later in order to exonerate himself he attempts to capture his accuser, the conniving and beautiful La Puta Durada. La Puta Durada (one of the neatest names in fiction) which means the golden whore, can vouch for Sharpe's innocence. Along the way he meets a psychopathic partisan named The Slaughterer, a malignant priest who wants to restore the inquisition, and Major Ducos a French spy-master. Even though there was plenty of adventure, I missed some of the minor characters, Major Hogan and Sargent Harper are practically no shows. I admit that this story does not measure up to the others in the Sharpe series. "Sharpe's Company", "Sharpe's Gold" or "Sharpe's Rifles" are better entries in the series and more exciting to read. However, "Sharpe's Honor" has its moments. The battle scenes are very realistic and surprisingly enough we are treated to more battle strategy. Normally in Cornwell's Sharpe books the point of view is from the main character Sharpe, but this time we are given several points of view of the battle and one of them (refreshingly enough) from the French side. But I must warn you the battle happens very late in the story and by then most of the plot lines have been resolved. One interesting item in the story is the prevailing theme that Sharpe should have no honor. Primarily because Sharpe came up from the ranks (starting out as a private and working up to a commissioned officer). The only one who thought Sharpe had any honor is Sharpe himself. "Sharpe's Honor" is fun and a good read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite, May 26, 2009

By 

Brian Hill "Brian Hill" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) (Paperback)

I've been reading Sharpe's adventures (mostly) in order. This book is my least favorite thus far. Several characters (Sharpe included) seem to act out of character. Eventually I just wanted it to end as it became predictably boring.