Title:

Sharpe's Trafalgar

Author:

Bernard Cornwell

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

August 6, 2023

his is the fourth book that I have read in Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series, and I have enjoyed them all, but Sharpe's Trafalgar is the best of the lot so far. In this story, Richard Sharpe, who is a lowly officer in the British army, happens to find himself aboard a British ship that participates in the epic sea battle of Trafalgar. Once again, Cornwell has found a way to make Sharpe present at a major battle of the Napoleonic Wars. I believe there about 20 books in this series, so I assume Sharpe will be present at every major confrontation that the British engage in. Though I knew the outcome of Trafalgar and (obviously) Waterloo, I admit I know very little about the rest of the battles with Napoleon, so it will interesting to fill in all those gaps in my knowledge of Britain's war with the French.

Sharpe's Trafalgar begins back in India. Sharpe is now an officer, and he is ordered back to England to join the Green Jackets, the first British army equipped with rifles instead of muskets. But before Sharpe sets sail, he has a confrontation with an Indian merchant who has cheated him out of some supplies. Indeed, not only does Sharpe retrieve his goods, but he also aids a likable British captain, Captain Chase of The Pucelle, who has also been cheated by the merchant. Chase befriends Sharpe, and naturally this leads to Sharpe's involvement at Trafalgar.

But before the epic naval battle, there is a lot of story telling about sailing ships over the vast expanses of sea. There is treachery, romance, and courage, and Sharpe's coarse brutality coupled with his strong sense of righteousness. There is also some depictions of the sharp distinctions between the upper class and the lower levels of British society. There are storms and sailing tactics, and an exciting ship to ship chase across miles of open ocean. Are the sailing tactics Cornwell describes accurate? I have no idea, but they made for a page-turning tale.

The battle of Trafalgar of course is the climatic end of the book. From the descriptions of the fighting, it must have bloody fighting indeed, as the ships from both fleets pound at each other at point blank range. Cannon and musket fire blast onto the enemy ships; in the end, the British appear to win because their gun crews are better trained - they can fire faster than their French counterparts, and so are able to unleash more destruction on the opposition. Cornwell's description of the close fighting make it sound as if it a miracle anyone survived at all.

Sharpe, of course, is in the thick of the battle. In his afterward, Cornwell reveals that The Pucelle, the ship that Sharpe is on, did not actually exist. Sharpe again survives the hail of cannonfire and musket shot without a scratch - indeed, given the primitive surgical techniques of the early 19th century, Cornwell cannot let Sharpe get wounded, because then he would not be available to star in the rest of the books in the series. The last book in the series is titled Sharpe's Devil, and it succeeds Sharpe's Waterloo, so I know Sharpe lives through the entire campaign.

Sharpe once again demonstrates a James Bond-esque ability to attract the attentions of a beautiful woman. Unlike Bond, Sharpe actually falls in love with the beauties that fall for him. I am curious what state Sharpe will be in at the start of book #5 (Sharpe's Prey) given that he ends this book in seemingly ideal circumstances.

Cornwell once again contrives to get Sharpe to meet the most famous men of his day. While in India, Sharpe saved the life of the future Duke of Wellington. In this novel, Sharpe gets to meet Lord Nelson before the battle begins.

I marvel at the amount of research that Cornwell (or his hired assistants) must have done during the writing of this book. There are many details of ship life and ship operations sprinkled throughout the narrative - this not information passed to the reader in boring long passages of dull description, but instead these details are woven into the tale, and serve to give it a strong sense of verisimilitude. This is great historical fiction, and I look forward to book five, Sharpe's Prey.