Title:

Sharpe's Prey

Author:

Bernard Cornwell

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

February 6, 2024

don't know why it took me so long to realize this, but Richard Sharpe is the 19th century version of James Bond. He can be brutally savage, he is a master of improvisation under extreme duress, he is an excellent fighter, and he always gets the most improbably beautiful babes. A big part of pleasure of reading the Sharpe books is the historical background. Cornwell again inserts details that make it sound like he knows what he is writing about, whether it is the operations of the British military, the workings of a sailing ship, or the streets of Copenhagen in 1807. The story rings true, even if Sharpe's continued survival is improbable.

In Sharpe's Prey, we learn that the British and French are maneuvering closer to the inevitable clash of empires. Napoleon dominates the continent, but he cannot attack Britain because his fleet was destroyed at Trafalgar. The Danes, however, have a fleet of their own. Denmark wishes to remain neutral, but their fleet is too valuable a prize to risk it falling into the clutches of the other empire. With a fleet, Napoleon could once again threaten to cross the English channel and invade. If the Danish fleet is harbored in England, then Britain would remain safe from naval attack.

British intelligence (hmmm, another similarity to the Bond franchise) decides the best course of action is to bribe the crown prince of Denmark. The gregarious Captain and Major Lavisser (yes, that really is Lavisser's title - Cornwell informs us that the Guards gave their officers dual ranks; the lower one denoted their responsibilities in the regiment while the higher was an acknowledgement that any Guards officer was a superior being) has been entrusted with 43,000 guineas of gold which he will offer to the crown prince in exchange for the right of sailing the Danish fleet to England. 43,000 guineas is a lot of money, and so master swordsman Captain Willsen has been appointed to act as an undercover bodyguard for Lavisser as the treasure chest is snuck into Copenhagen. Unfortunately, the highly capable Willsen is found murdered just before Lavisser is set to sail.

At the end of Sharpe's Trafalgar, our hero was wealthy beyond belief, had the love of a gorgeous noblewoman, and was set to retire to a happy life of privilege. But at the opening to Sharpe's Prey, the next novel in the series, we catch up with Sharpe as he is trying to sell his lieutenant commission in order to desperately raise some funds. But alas, since Sharpe's commission was earned for valor displayed on the battlefield, his commission cannot be sold. Grace is dead, the money is gone, and the 94th has relegated Sharpe to the role of quartermaster (the other officers despise Sharpe since he a common man, rather than a noble who purchased his commission.)

With Willsen's murder, Lord Pumphrey (the 19th-century secret service chief) needs a resourceful soldier to escort Lavisser and the gold. Who better than Richard Sharpe? And so Sharpe finds himself dressed in civilian clothes on a ship sailing to Copenhagen. Lavisser is friendly and welcoming, he seems to sympathize with Sharpe's misery over the loss of his wife Grace. But Lavisser has a sidekick named Barker, a huge mountain of a man, violent and intimidating - not the sort of company commonly found with Honorable men in Her Majesty's Service.

Circumstances of course go awry as soon as Lavisser and Sharpe and Barker and 43,000 guineas are landed on a dark beach outside of Copenhagen. Sharpe finds himself stranded in a foreign country where he doesn't know the language or customs. All he has is a name and an address that Pumphrey gave him, though Sharpe was warned to contact this man only in the direst of emergencies. What could be more dire than Sharpe's current plight? Sharpe sets off across the Danish countryside...

There is much that I don't know about the Napoleonic Wars, and this incident involving the British trying to steal the fleet from a neutral kingdom was entirely new to me, though it based upon actual historical events. It surprised me that this book takes place in 1807, two years after Trafalgar, and yet the British and French armies are not yet engaged in combat. I know Waterloo happened in 1815, so a lot must happen in the next eight years. The next volume, Sharpe's Rifles, takes place in 1809. I will have to pick up that volume soon, this series is still entertaining.