Sharpe's Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the Defense of Portugal, Christmas 1812

"Sharpe's Enemy" is a classic Sharpe novel - fast-paced, bloody, and chock full of the highs and lows of the soldier's life. "Enemy," despite its more vicious moments, is also one of the most humorous of all the Sharpe novels. Taken together, this is one of the high points in this stellar series. "Enemy" spans a few days around Christmas, 1812. There are two basic plots going on. The first is the most sinister. Sharpe's tormentor and the titular enemy is Obadiah Hakeswill. He is the man who unfairly flogged Sharpe in India, and later Hakeswill tried to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa and threatened their infant daughter with a bayonet. But Hakeswill brags that he cannot be killed, and there may be some truth to that because Hakeswill now leads a strong force of desperate brigands who have murdered and raped their way into a stronghold that dominates a pass in the mountains. To make matters worse, Hakeswill has kidnapped several women, including the wife of a French officer and the Lady Farthingdale, wife of an elderly British officer, Sir Augustus Farthingdale. Hakeswill has ransomed Lady Farthingdale for a considerable sum, and Sharpe and Harper are charged with handing over the ransom and retrieving the Lady. While on the mission, they encounter a French party on the identical mission, and they form a temporary alliance. Without giving away too many plot points, the second main plot line of the novel involves Sharpe and Harper leading an outmanned British force against a massive French column. Only through ingenuity and daring can Sharpe hope to make the French pay for every yard of ground through the pass, and it is evident to all that Sharpe is fighting a lost cause. But as the French will learn, nobody fights a lost cause better than Richard Sharpe. "Enemy" is one of the strongest novels in the series because there are so many great supporting characters. Harper, Hagman, and the usual suspects are always present, but Cornwell introduces us to Captain Fredrickson, the one-eyed soldier's soldier, to General Nairn, the seemingly foolish but very wise British officer, and to various and sundry other characters, including many on the French side. Cornwell also gets to reintroduce the reader to the British rocket, that woefully inaccurate yet occasionally lethal weapon that hasn't been seen since Sharpe's India days. Sharpe's use of these rockets against an advancing French column leads to one of the most thrilling battle scenes Cornwell has yet written. And that's saying something. Also look for a lot of humor resulting from the appearance of the gorgeous Lady Farthingdale, with whom Sharpe has already a passing familiarity . . . If you're a fan of the Sharpe novels, don't skip over any of the earlier novels to get to this one, but make sure you keep reading!

Bernard Cornwell just keeps getting better and better as these books progress! This is now the 13th volume on Sharpe's timeline, and the 6th in order of publication. The character development continues to improve as new personae are introduced in each installment. An especially appealing new character is the one-eyed and mutilated rifle captain , "Sweet William", who joins Sharpe and Harper in this highly entertaining novel.The time is late 1812 with Christmas approaching. A renegade army of British , Spanish , Portuguese , and French deserters have captured the "wife" of Colonel Sir Augustus Fotheringdale (what a name!), another of those rich and aristocratic and enormously egotistical bungling incompotents that seem to pop up regularly in these novels. Sharpe is selected to rescue the damsel in distress who is being held at an old castle and watchtower on the Northern border of Portugal , known as "the Gateway of God". He is provided by Wellington with two additional companies of riflemen and a batallion of Welsh Fusileers as reinforcements. Sharpe , now a Major , commands the rescue operation and manages to effect it with only minimal losses. The subsequent interference by Sir Augustus manages to result in the death of Colonel Kinney , the commander of the Fusileers , leaving Sharpe as the only experienced senior officer present. Also liberated is the wife of a French Colonel , who is returned promptly to her husband . The French seemingly have also mounted a rescue attempt , but only as a cover for an invasion of Portugal. Sharpe manages to uncover the scheme and settles in to thwart the French and brings them to battle , seeking to buy time for Wellington to respond.There are many interesting twists and turns to the plot , in which Sharpe encounters his old mortal enemy , Obadiah Hakeswill , fights a battle , commands a batallion , and suffers a tragic loss. This is one of the best Richard Sharpe novels ; not necessarily "the best" , but close enough. Five stars.

?Sharpe?s Enemy? by Bernard Cornwell is probably the best in the Sharpe series. There is nothing lacking in the story: evil and corrupt enemies, damsels in distress, heart breaking pathos and (of course) hard-fought battles. The year is 1812 and it?s Christmas time in Spain. Joining Sharpe in ?Enemy? is his trusty companion Sargent Harper, the battle scared Captain ?Sweet William? and the often drunk Lieutenant Harry Price. Typical of Cornwell?s Sharpe adventures are the enemy forces that will stop at nothing in their efforts to defeat the brave British soldiers. Major Sharpe is given the task of liberating two officer?s wives and capturing the forces of Pot-au-Feu, a ?Marshal? in the renegade army. During his ransom negotiations with the deserters, he encounters his old nemesis the evil and twisted Obadiah Hakeswill. Other enemies include: Sharpe?s commanding officer the incompetent and cowardly Colonel Sir Augustus and the evil and conniving French Major Ducos. One of the refreshing themes in this story is that the enemies are not just the French army but the people that are supposedly his allies. Surprisingly enough during a temporary treaty he gains some respect for a few of the Napoleon?s officers. Throughout the course of the story he commands a battalion, defends a castle and wins countless battles.For people that have never read a Sharpe book I would like to quote a couple of sentences as an example of Cornwell?s style.?Charge!This was the way to end it! Sword in hand and charging, and even though the battle was lost he could still make these French regret the day they had come to the Gateway of God. He could put fear in them for their next battle, he would make them remember this place with sourness.?This is Cornwell?s gritty style. Sharpe is a soldier?s soldier and hero for all ages.

I have read all the Sharpe novels and in my opinion, this is the most entertaining. Unfortunately, it is one of the few that is not based on historical accounts, but there is enough realism to make it interesting. From the new-fangled "rockets" that are put to good use to the descriptions of early 19th century Christmas celebrations to the wonderfully evil Hakeswill to incompetent senior officers, this book has it all. Sharpe has a chance to lead a battalion of troops against an enemy of overwhelming numerical superiority and, in the Sharpe tradition, does it through a combination of ferocious and dirty fighting. One has to wonder how much more quickly Britain would have won the Peninsula wars if they had promoted all officers based on merit instead of patronage and cash. To get the full flavor of the book, however, it should not be read out of sequence with the rest of the novels in the series. The twist at the end (which I will not reveal here) is somewhat of a downer, but it provides motivation in later novels.

Somehow, I've been aware for years of Cornwall's series set in the Napoleonic wars, and the BBC productions based on them, but haven't gotten around to sampling either book or video until this. It is obviously in the middle of the series, but the reader does not suffer from this. You can pretty quickly tell which characters are reoccurring ones, and indeed the British hero Sharpe finally has it out with his old enemy Obadiah Hakeswell (great name!) in this volume. Certainly, there would be greater deliciousness if I'd read of their previous encounters, but Cornwall effectively summarizes them so that one is satisfied. The military action centers around a small Spanish village near the Portuguese border, in which a band of deserters are holding hostage a number of innocent women, including the wives of some British and French officers. Sharpe is assigned the task of their rescue, and then later assumes great responsibilities as he must meet a challenge from the French. There is some good stuff about how the British officers operated, and some fun with the first rocket artillery unit in war. Despite all these heroics, Cornwall keeps the horror and senseless waste of war in clear focus. The ending is especially bittersweet, though not unexpected. I'll definitely be looking to read this series in order, or at least check out the videos.