Sharpe's Triumph
1st edition
|
|
| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Richard Sharpe stories |
| Genre | Historical novels |
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
|
Publication date
|
26 February 1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio-CD |
| Pages | 400 pp (hardcover edition) 384 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | (hardcover edition) |
| OCLC | 40337475 |
| Preceded by | Sharpe's Tiger |
| Followed by | Sharpe's Fortress |
Sharpe's Triumph is the second historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1998. Sharpe is a sergeant in the army, who attracts the attention of General Arthur Wellesley at Ahmednuggur.
Sergeant Richard Sharpe and a small detachment of men arrive at an isolated East India Company fort to collect ammunition for the armory at Seringapatam. Whilst Sharpe and his men rest, a company of East India Company Sepoys arrive under the command of Lieutenant William Dodd. Dodd abruptly orders his men to parade and then fire on the company troops, instigating a massacre. Sharpe is wounded in the fight and feigns death, allowing him to escape once Dodd's company withdraw.
Back in Seringapatam, Sharpe tells his commanding officer, Major Stokes, that he blames himself for the massacre. Whilst Stokes reassures him that it wasn't his fault, Sharpe's friend Colonel McCandless, whom Sharpe met a couple of years earlier during the siege of Seringapatam (Sharpe's Tiger), arrives and questions him about Dodd. It is revealed that Dodd deserted the East India Company, with all his men, and McCandless has been tasked with hunting him down. McCandless orders Sharpe to accompany him in the search for Dodd since he will be able to recognize him. By now Dodd has returned to Colonel Anthony Pohlmann, commander of Daulat Scindia's army, at the city of Ahmednuggur and is rewarded by a promotion to Major and command of his own battalion. Since the Mysore Campaign, the British have been pushing further north in India where the Maratha Confederacy holds sway and Scinda is one of the Maratha rulers resisting the British expansion. Scinda orders most of his men out of Ahmednuggur so Pohlmann gives Dodd command of the city and instructions to hold it as long as possible but not be captured.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill figures out that Sharpe killed the Tippoo Sultan 4 years earlier at Seringapatam and so frames him for an attack on his former company commander, Captain Morris. Given the authority to arrest Sharpe, Hakeswill recruits a group of men to help him murder Sharpe, once arrested, so they can steal the Tippoo's treasure from him.
Sharpe and McCandless travel to the British army, escorted by Syud Sevajee, a Maratha working for the East India Company, and his men. They reach the army, now under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley, Sharpe's former regimental commander and the future Duke of Wellington, which is pushing into Maratha territory. Reaching the army, Sharpe earns Wellesley's gratitude by successfully bleeding his favorite horse. McCandless explains the nature of their mission and Wellesley allows them to join the army. Upon arrival at Ahmednuggur, Wellesley launches a risky escalade in a bid to quickly capture the poorly fortified town and succeeds, to the amazement of Dodd who does not rate Wellesley as a general. Despite this, Dodd manages to extract himself and his troops from the rout and retreats to Pohlmann's army, much to McCandless's anger. During his retreat, Dodd settles on naming his regiment the Cobras. In the chaos of the battle, Sharpe rescues Simone Joubert, the French-Mauritian wife of a French officer in Dodd's regiment. Under the pretence of returning Joubert to her husband, McCandless decides to use this as an opportunity to spy on the Maratha army. They do not leave immediately however, and Sharpe spends the night in Ahmednuggur with Simone.
...
Wikipedia