Sharpe's Revenge: Richard Sharpe & the Peace of 1814 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #19) [Paperback]

Bernard Cornwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1990

It is 1814 and the defeat of Napoleon seems imminent. But before Richard Sharpe can lay down his sword, he must fight a different sort of war. Accused of stealing Napoleon's personal treasures, Sharpe embarks on the battle of his life, armed with only an unflinching resolve to protect his honor and to inflict devastating revenge. Bernard Cornwell's tenth Sharpe novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 10th in Cornwell's series ( Sharpe's Rifles , etc.) is a corker. It is early 1814 and Major Richard Sharpe is still with one-eyed Capt. Frederickson and giant Sgt. Maj. Harper. Sharpe's French nemesis Major Ducos, in the first of a series of betrayals, has stolen a fortune from Napoleon and framed Sharpe for the crime. As fugitives from the British Army and the restored French royalist regime, Sharpe, Frederickson and Harper travel across France and into Naples to find Ducos and clear themselves. They must also deal with a loyal Bonapartist general and a rapacious Neapolitan cardinal, both of whom want the treasure. Sharpe has further problems with a fickle young wife in Regency London and an unlikely romantic attachment in Normandy. Fast and gripping, the story is carried by Cornwell's easy hold on vivid period detail. After an alliance of convenience with the Bonapartist general, Sharpe's final escape is literally dazzling. Readers will relish this adventure and eagerly await Sharpe at Waterloo.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1814, Richard Sharp must take the well-defended city of Toulouse to secure the defeat of Napoleon. But after this bloodiest of battles, Napoleon's personal treasure disappears. Sharp, framed by a clever renegade French commander, must escape from a British military prison, find the real culprit, and recover the gold and jewels if he is to save his career and good name. This volume, a brilliant historic action, adventure, and love story, appeals to a wide audience, much like the other titles in this fabulous series (e.g., Sharpe's Regiment, Audio Reviews, LJ 9/15/94). Frederick Davidson performs an unparalleled dramatization. A fascinating and educational work that will do credit to any library.?James Dudley, Copiague, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Penguin; Repack edition (June 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014008472X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140084726
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,915,156 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet Sharpe, December 17, 2002

By 

Matthew P. Ward (Greer, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sharpe's Revenge (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #10) (Paperback)

If I can grossly break Sharpe readers into two camps (those who read just for the battle scenes, and those who read for the story of Richard Sharpe, of which battle scenes are one thrilling part), then Sharpe's Revenge is definitely for the second group. Other than the surprisingly hard-fought battle of Toulouse at the start, Revenge concerns Sharpe's (almost) one-man adventures in post-war Europe.

It's a strange world for Sharpe (and the Sharpe reader), one in which the dogged British army we've come to admire through ten books of the Peninsula War is no longer the underdog fighting overwhelming odds, but is the overwhelming force itself. Everyone knows Napoleon is doomed. Indeed, it's sad to read about the bloodshed at Toulouse because sacrifices which seemed heroic a year earlier just seemed tragically unnecessary in April 1814. What a sad thing to be the last soldier killed in a war.

Like the army, Sharpe is changing. As he gets older (he's now 36), he's losing his relish for battle and finding it harder to keep down the fear. For much of the book, his friend Frederickson is the go-getter, as Sharpe struggles with self-doubt over his post-army role, his wife's infidelities, etc.

And, after victory, the army is broken apart and Sharpe is adrift in this new world. But, of course, not for long. There's one more adventure with Harper and out of it, Sharpe's post-war world takes shape.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe on the Run, July 4, 2000

By 

Cody Carlson (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sharpe's Revenge: Richard Sharpe & the Peace of 1814 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #19) (Paperback)

'Sharpe's Revenge' takes the series' hero, Richard Sharpe, through the battle of Toulouse to the end of the war with France. But Sharpe's old enemy, Pierre Ducos, has yet another scheme cooking which will make him extremely wealthy and leave Sharpe implicated in the disappearence of Napoleon's fortune. To redeem his name Sharpe, Sergeant Harper, and Captian Fredrickson must roam a newly peaceful Europe in search of Ducos. A bit of a transition novel in the series, it does tend to stray a little from the battlefield adventures of the other books, nevertheless it is a fun and exciting story that paves the way for the next novel in the series, 'Waterloo.'

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last hurrah for Major Ducos!, July 17, 1998

By 

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

This review is from: Sharpe's Revenge: Richard Sharpe & the Peace of 1814 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #19) (Paperback)

The war with Napoleon is finaly over and the Brittish troops are prepairing to return to England. Unfortunately Major Ducos has different plan for our hero Sharpe. Framed for stealing the treasures of Napoleon, Sharpe and Harper must travel to Italy and even fight along side the troops of an old enemy to clear his name and exact revenge. Cornwell does well in capturing the anger in Richard Sharpe. His writing style helps the reader to feel exactly what his characters are feeling. While the war with Napoleon is over there really can be no lasting peace for Richard Sharpe. Bernard Cornwell will never let Sharpe retire into a quiet life and thank goodness for us Sharpe fans!