Sharpe's Trafalgar: Summary and book reviews of Sharpe's Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell, plus links to an excerpt from Sharpe's Trafalgar and a biography of Bernard Cornwell.
Sharpe's Trafalgar
by Bernard Cornwell
Hardcover: Jun 2001,
304 pages.
Paperback: Jul 2002,
320 pages.
A dazzling nautical adventure that finds Bernard Cornwell's beloved ensign Richard Sharpe in the middle of one of history's most spectacular naval engagements: the battle at Cape Trafalgar off the coast of Spain.
The year is 1805, and Richard Sharpe, having completed his tour in India (Sharpe's Tiger; Sharpe's Triumph; Sharpe's Fortress), is headed back to England, where he will join a newly formed regiment, the Green Jackets. Traveling aboard Captain Peculiar Cromwell's East Indiaman cargo ship, the Calliope, is the lovely Lady Grace Hale, whose regal presence may provide intrigue and distraction from what promises to be an otherwise uneventful voyage home.
But nothing is uneventful in the life of Richard Sharpe, even at sea: the Calliope is captured by a formidable French warship, the Revenant, which has been terrorizing British nautical traffic in the Indian Ocean. The French warship races toward the safety of its own fleet, carrying a stolen treaty that, if delivered, could provoke India into a new war against the British -- and render for naught all that Sharpe has fought for so bravely till now. But help comes from an unexpected quarter. An old friend, a captain in the Royal Navy, is on the trail of the Revenant, and Sharpe comes aboard a 74-gun man-of-war called Pucelle in hot pursuit.
Then Admiral Horatio Nelson arrives, with his magnificent fleet of twenty-seven. What results is a breathtaking retelling of one of the most ferocious and one-sided sea battles in European history, in which Nelson -- and Sharpe -- vanquish the combined naval might of France and Spain at Trafalgar.
The Wall Street Journal
Fun page-turners that fan clubs all over the world are devoted to.
The Boston Globe
Excellently entertaining. If you love historical drama...then look no further.
Library Journal
As always, Cornwell satisfyingly delivers action, adventure, and a great gallery of villains and heroes, plus the usual beautiful lady. Recommended for all public libraries.
Kirkus Reviews
This one takes up Sharpe's adventures in Spain 1805 and is the first Sharpe story set at sea (where, Cornwell admits, Sharpe has no place being) and shows how Nelson abandons old methods of attack and chops the French line of battle into three pieces. A mug of port, a wedge of blue-veined cheese, and some hard sea-biscuits for the master.
Publisher's Weekly
Nobody describes bloody battle scenes better than Cornwell, and even he outdoes himself with this riveting novel about the epic naval battle off Spain's Cape Trafalgar in 1805.
Publishing News
Adventure of the most exhilarating kind is in store for the reader.
The Evening Standard
A rousing read.
The London Observer
Cornwell's narration of this epic sea-battle is quite masterly and supremely well-researched.... One of the best.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by emma twosouls
everything one would expect. the revelation of just how dangerous and attractive Richard Sharpe is.
Rated of 5
by Anonymous
Bernard Cornwell wrote this, what more do you need to know?
Rated of 5
by Chido
This book was in my opinion, the best Sharpe novel ever written by Cornwell, I have read all the others besides Sharpe's Havoc and enjoy them all very much. The battle scenes in this book were better, more interesting and origonal than any... Read More
Rated of 5
by cam benge
an exciting read but the affair between Sharpe and Grace side tracks the story too much
Rated of 5
by Lance Manley
I've lost my faith...
The early Sharpe books were exquisite reads and merged Cornwell's flair for detail and magnificent grasp of military detail and history with Richard Sharpe a ruthless yet adaptable hero. It was with some trepidation... Read More
Rated of 5
by Richard Head
Not as good as the other novels but a very good book all the same with great action Scrpit as you would expect in a Cornwell book
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