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Sharpe's Escape
 
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Sharpe's Escape (Paperback)

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Sharpe's Escape + Sharpe's Fury + Sharpe's Gold: Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810
Price For All Three: £14.45

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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (1 Nov 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007120141
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007120147
  • Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.2 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,868 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #31 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Bernard > Sharpe Novels
    #55 in  Books > Fiction > Historical

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

There's no question that Bernard Cornwell's ever-growing magnum opus consists of his books featuring the doughty soldier Richard Shape, of which Sharpe's Escape is the 20th title. All the elements that aficionados look for in Cornwell's books are firmly and satisfyingly in place. The year is 1810, and the British Army is struggling against the confident French, who are assailing Portugal once again. As British soldiers cross into Spain, they find a hunger-ridden, depleted land. In the middle of the chaos is Captain of the Light Company, Richard Sharpe, who has found a new nemesis in Ferragus, a duplicitous Portuguese man well-connected with the French invaders. However, the battle between the two men takes a more dangerous turn, when Sharpe, no longer with his regiment, takes some unorthodox routes to prosecute his personal battle. With only his ex-colleague, the reliable Sergeant Harper and a Portuguese ally, Jorge Vicente, to help confront myriad enemies, the Sharpe/Ferragus duel is fought through the ruined streets of Coimbra and on to Lisbon, as Wellington mounts a coup de grace against the French.

Bernard Cornwell fans know what to expect: vivid scene-setting and pithy historical detail (never artificially freighted in, always comfortably ensconced), exhilarating action set-pieces, and (riding above it all) the larger-than-life figure of Richard Sharpe, realised with real bravura. --Barry Forshaw



Review

'The Richard Sharpe novels are notable for their wonderfully astringent view of history. Sharpe is a man first and a patriot second: he is as likely to pick a fight with one of his own side as charge blindly towards the enemy.' Sunday Telegraph 'No one is better than Bernard Cornwell in describing battles large and small, howitzer fire, cavalry charges or bayonet attacks.' Evening Standard

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe's still Triumphant, 15 Feb 2006
By Sam "samueltyler" (Reading, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Authors sometimes find that they have painted themselves into a corner by writing about a specific character over a given period. Throughout the 1980s and 90s Bernard Cornwell told the chronological tales of Sharpe as he progressed through the war and through the ranks.

However, after Waterloo and the war ending what can Cornwell do? Produce a set of prequels? Check! What about integrating new stories into the Napoleonic Wars during time periods previously ignored? Bingo!

Sharpe's Escape takes us back to 1810 and tells of Sharpe's run in with a dodgy Portuguese Major and his criminal brother. As a fan of the series the characters feel like family and the story rattles along at a good pace.

I really enjoyed this title, as a fan. However, I can see it being difficult for first timers as it’s not the strongest of Sharpe novels and no new characterization is offered. I also find it slightly confusing trying to remember what year and rank Sharpe is meant to be fighting in as each new book comes out.

For fans this is a must but for first time Sharpe readers I suggest reading them in Chronological order where possible.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, sturdy book, 4 May 2004
By Super Sal (South East England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sharpe's Escape (Hardcover)
I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell and all of his books; however it is his Sharpe series that i like the best, mainly because of the sharp action and deep historical detail. This is another good book, just like the last one, Sharpe's Havoc. There are enough battles and sword and bare-kuckles fights to satisfy anyone, and the description of the lines of Torres-Verdas are particularly fascinating to read, as there has obviously been a lot of reasearch done.

However, like the last novel, I get the feeling that something is not quite there that was in his earlier novels, as the action seems a little bland and is not quite as detailed, it seems. It may just be me, but unlike his earlier works, my favourite of which is Waterloo, I have not found myself rereading this book as I have done the others.

All in all, an exciting plot with a slightly obvious ending which has been done before -Sharpe's Honour and Battle springs to mind- and a little less exciting than the others, but still more than worthy of attention. Bring back Hakeswill!

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A more extended battle, 29 Mar 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Sharpe's Escape (Hardcover)
I used to think that Sharpe had run its course and that after the Trafalgar novel came out, he should have hung up his boots. I was wrong.

Escape, like Havoc gets to the action, it seems, much quicker than some of the other novels and maintains it throughout the course of the story. No one can describe a battle like Bernard Cornwell and he maintains his high standard throughout this book.

A good storyline, if a little predictable with the "big bad buy" and the woman along in the sub plot, but none the less a great read.

Overall, another great outing for Sharpe.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great "Locked Room" Escape Flanked by Foolish French, Traitors, and a Strategic Retreat

I envy all those who read the Richard Sharpe novels in the chronological order of the events contained in them rather than the order in which they were published. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

4.0 out of 5 stars liked it as a first timer
This is the first time, that I came across a Sharpe's novel.

As I have never been really interested in the Napoleonic wars, I had no real knowledge of what was... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Florian Drews

5.0 out of 5 stars Back on form
This is one of the best in the series to date. New enemies that really get to you, a heroin that you can picture. Read more
Published 13 months ago by chuckles

4.0 out of 5 stars High adventure in Portugal
'Sharpe's Escape' is set in 1810 when Wellington is withdrawing his army behind the Lines at Torres Vedras. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2007 by Didier

1.0 out of 5 stars Cornwells betrayal
I read all of the original Sharpe series in the eighties and thought that the series had come to it's natural conclusion with Sharpes Waterloo in 1990. Read more
Published on 28 Jul 2007 by Starbuck Fan

4.0 out of 5 stars A \Great Escape
I picked this book up without having read any Sharpe novels before and found myself really enjoying it. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2006 by P. Wyatt

2.0 out of 5 stars Not my sort of thing at all
I read this more or less by accident. I went into hospital with nothing to read, and picked this up in the hospital bookshop as the least worst thing to read. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2006 by Jezza

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
I love the Sharpe series, the Starbuck Chronicles and recently read the Derfel series, loved them all. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2005 by welshmandan

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Sharpe Adventure
The twentieth Sharpe book contains everything fans of the series have come to expect from Cornwell. Set in 1810, the story finds the British Army executing a strategic retreat... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2005 by A. Ross

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book
This is yet another great Sharpe book Cornwell again transports us back to the Napolionic wars and you can feel the excitement of battle and the stench of times(literaly). Read more
Published on 6 Jul 2004 by lindafranklin

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