Sharpe's Eagle
First edition
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| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Richard Sharpe Series |
| Genre | Historical novels |
| Publisher | Collins |
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Publication date
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9 February 1981 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio-CD |
| Pages | 266 pp (hardcover edition) 304 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | (hardcover edition) (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 16564604 |
| Preceded by | None (publication) Sharpe's Havoc (chronological) |
| Followed by | Sharpe's Gold |
Sharpe's Eagle is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1981. The story is set in July 1809, in the midst of the Talavera Campaign during the Peninsular War. It was the first Sharpe novel published, but eighth in the series' chronological order.
In subsequent re-publications, Sharpe's Rifles was numbered as the "first" novel in the original series (ending with Sharpe's Waterloo), while Eagle was numbered as the second.
1809: During the Talavera Campaign, Sir Arthur Wellesley's army has entered Spain to confront Marshall Victor, Richard Sharpe and his small group of thirty Riflemen are attached to the newly arrived South Essex Regiment. Commanded by the cowardly and bullying dilettante, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, the South Essex is a raw, inexperienced unit that has been drilled mercilessly with frequent use of the lash.
More suited for ceremonial parades than genuine combat against the veteran armies of France, Sharpe takes it upon himself to shape the inexperienced and poorly-trained redcoats into full-fledged soldiers. His real problem turns out to be the officers, most of whom appear to be in the lap of Simmerson, including his nephew, the arrogant Lieutenant Christian Gibbons, and his best friend, Lieutenant John Berry. The situation is further complicated by the rivalry that emerges between Sharpe and Gibbons for the affections of Josefina Lacosta, a Portuguese noblewoman abandoned by her husband after he fled to Brazil. Only two appear to have any real experience: Captain Lennox, a veteran of the Battle of Assaye, where Sharpe himself won his commission; and Captain Thomas Leroy, an American Loyalist who fled with his merchant family to England during the American War of Independence.
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