is there an app to read books for free on iphone Sharpe's Eagle (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #2)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Marvellous military action from Bernard CornwellBy James Bowen"Sharpe's Eagle" was the first Sharpe historical novel written by Bernard Cornwell. It ranks number eight in the chronological sequence of twenty-four novels that cover the colourful military career of rifleman Richard Sharpe. That career begins in India with Sharpe a lowly private in the British Army fighting the French-equipped armies of the hostile sultan of Mysore and the Maratha Confederacy. Having saved the life of Sir Arthur Wellesley (later to become the 1st Duke of Wellington) in the heat of the Battle of Assaye (1803), Sharpe receives the dubious gift of a field promotion from sergeant to ensign - the lowest officer grade. The promotion to officer gives him access to the officers' mess but also exposes him to the insults of English upper class officers who buy their promotions regardless of merit and cannot abide the presence of a man from the ranks in their company. This class hostility towards Sharpe, who is a fine soldier, is a continuing feature of the Sharpe novels. The stories traverse the bloody fighting in Portugal and Spain where Arthur Wellesley defeats the best of Napoleon's marshals in massive battles, and end Sharpe's formal military career at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. At Waterloo, Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe fights in the great battle that ended Napoleon's Bonaparte's career.I found Sharpe's Eagle absolutely riveting. The novel moves at a very fast pace and Cornwell blends intense military action with upper class villainy directed at Lieutenant Sharpe, and includes a romantic interest between Sharpe and Portuguese aristocrat Josefina who has been cast off by her husband. There is a great deal of military action in this book, starting with the loss of the regimental flag (the King's Colours) of the fictional South Essex regiment when the massively incompetent, cowardly, and brutal English commander of the South Essex, Sir Henry Simmerson, orders his battalion pointlessly to cross the bridge at Valdelacasa in Spain instead of destroying it as British commander Wellesley had ordered. Simmerson had bought his commission and raised his regiment from his own financial resources and with the benefit of support from a cousin in Horseguards (Britain's army headquarters in London). The undertrained and poorly led South Essex are no match for French cavalry veterans who suddenly appear and savage Simmerson's raw battalion. The French cavalry seize and carry off the King's Colour and Regimental Colour of the South Essex. The loss of either flag in battle was coup for the French but the ultimate disgrace for the South Essex and the British Army. Simmerson then orders a retreat back across the bridge that he should have destroyed. He then blows up the bridge, leaving one of his own companies (80 men) and Lieutenant Sharpe's thirty riflemen, together with all Simmerson's wounded, on the wrong side of the river with the French cavalry. Sharpe takes command of the abandoned British troops. He recovers the South Essex regimental flag but cannot recover the King's Colour which is carried off as a battle trophy by the French cavalry and saves his small command. Back at British headquarters, Simmerson blames Sharpe unjustly for the disaster at Valdelacasa and disgrace to the British Army flowing from the loss of the King's Colour, but Wellesley knows that Simmerson's incompetence and cowardice caused the disaster and the loss of the KIng's Colour. Wellesley gives Simmerson a fierce tongue-lashing, removes the South Essex from the army list by reducing it to a battalion of detachments, and promotes Sharpe to brevet (temporary) captain in Simmerson's presence. Simmerson is furious and warns Wellesley that he will complain to his cousin at Horseguards about Wellesley's treatment of him and will assign full blame to Sharpe for the debacle at Valdelacasa and the loss of the King's Colour to the French.Sharpe realises that Simmerson's personal influence with Horseguards spells doom for confirmation of his temporary appointment as captain, and resolves to save his promotion by performing an act of extraordinary bravery at the impending Battle of Talavera (1809), namely, to seize and carry off a closely guarded French Eagle touched by Napoleon's own hand - a feat never before achieved and the greatest prize a British soldier could win on a Napoleonic battlefield. At Talavera, a combined British (20,000) and Spanish army (33,000) would be opposed to an army of elite French veterans numbering some 46,000. The numbers do not tell the true story because the British and Spanish armies were not used to working together on the battlefield and most of the Spanish troops were untested in battle. The Spanish fight behind erected defences. The British fight in their usual two rank lines on an open hill against the massive French columns. Cornwell's coverage of the battle is remarkable. The reader is placed squarely in the thick of the action. Will Sharpe snatch an Eagle from the French who guard it with their lives in battle and keep his captaincy? Will Sharpe retain the affections of the beautiful aristocrat Josefina? I strongly recommend reading this fine action novel to find out. Sharpe's Eagle is the best of the ten Sharpe novels that I have read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Another great book by the master of historical fictionBy T StaffordI have thoroughly enjoyed every Cornwell book I've read from the Saxon Tales (my favorite), The Archers Quest (my other favorite) to the renowned Sharpe seruese (yeah my favorite too).If you enjoy historical fiction, if you enjoy books about soldiering regardless of timeframe, if you enjoy books that bring the times they cover to vibrant, often bloody life ... Then you should already be reading Cornwell.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Not quite as well written as Sharpe's Rifles, but very enjoyable.By GibbleBernard Cornwell tells a great story with excellent characters, wonderful action and great detail. He maintains accuracy with technical elements of the time, but unlike other authors does not wear you down with jargon and unnecessary mechanics. He tells a story that happens to have a firm foundation, which only makes the story that much more interesting. He also does a wonderful wrap-up at the end that explains how he tied his fictional characters and situation into real events in the world and what he had to do to adjust them. Some things that you discover actually occurred are often the ones that you assumed were the things he made up.BTW, I'm normally a reader of fantasy, so this is something of a departure from my usual fare and I love it.It's a great read and a wonderful series. Highly recommended.