Product Description

A classic Sharpe adventure: Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814. The invasion of France is under way, and the British Navy has called upon the services of Major Richard Sharpe. He and a small force of Riflemen are to capture a fortress and secure a landing on the French coast. It is to be one of the most dangerous missions of his career. Through the incompetence of a recklessly ambitious naval commander and the machinations of his old enemy, French spymaster Pierre Ducos, Sharpe finds himself abandoned in the heart of enemy territory, facing overwhelming forces and the very real prospect of defeat. He has no alternative but to trust his fortunes to an American privateer -- a man who has no love for the British invaders.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7395 in Books
• Published on: 1988-02-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'The same combination of thorough research and narrative drive that distinguished its predecessors. It is a gripping read.' Independent Praise for Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels: 'Sharpe is a great creation' Daily Mirror 'Consistently exciting! these are wonderful novels' Stephen King 'What makes these books such a successful formula is the blend of action, well-researched historical setting, colourful characterization and a juicy sub-plot' The Times

From the Publisher
Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814.

About the Author
Bernard Cornwell worked for BBC TV for seven years, mostly as producer on the Nationwide programme, before taking charge of the current Affairs department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he became editor of Thames Television's Thames at Six. Married to an American, he now lives in the United States.

Customer Reviews

Richard Sharpe takes his riflemen into Napoleonic France
Described by Sharpe's creator Bernard Cornwell as his personal favourite amongst the series of novels, Sharpe's Siege is yet another class act.

Sharpe and his henchmen Harper and Frederickson are once more up against desperate odds - battling the old enemy for the first time on French territory as well as striving to make the best of a bad officer lot. The difference this time is that it is the naked and naïve ambition of a Royal Naval captain and the treachery of a French sympathiser that puts Sharpe and his men in danger of their lives. Sharpe, a recently married man, is also in great fear for the well-being of his wife - from whom he has been separated by the powers-that-be just as she seems to have contracted a deadly fever from Sharpe's old mentor, Major Hogan.

Things are not looking good when Sharpe's riflemen are abandoned after a coastal hit and run raid on a fortress goes wrong, courtesy of the inept naval officer. Being set in 1813 with Britain facing up to not only the French but also the United States, Cornwall takes the opportunity to give Sharpe a further adversary with whom to contend as a seagoing American privateer and his crew add fuel to the mix. And as if this isn't enough, Sharpe's old nemesis, Pierre Ducos, arrives to exact personal revenge against the battle-scarred rifleman. The rifleman and his assorted collection of greenjackets and marines dig in deep in an attempt to hold the fortress until succour arrives.

Sharpe is at his most ruthless and compassionate as he tries to keep his cold, hungry and war weary troops safe. Cornwell is certainly right to rank Sharpe's Siege as one of the more outstanding escapades of his most well known creation, Major Richard Sharpe.

Sharpe gets stuck again!
This is one of the books that is not based on factual events, and is one of Cornwell's favourites. This is once again a great read and I finished it in less than a week. This strays away a bit from the old Sharpe, now married he begins to doubt himself, and finding himself without the South Essex and having to work with the Navy, makes him feel out of his zone. With the return of arch enemey Ducos, and with Harper and new pal Frederikson by his side can he defeat the french, and the new enemy, the Americans? Good read as ever, just not a Sharpe classic for me.

Keeps getting better
Another excellent novel by Bernard Cornwell, they just keep getting better! No doubt that is partly due to the fact that, as you progress in the Sharpe-series, you get to know many of the characters better and better (Harper, William Frederickson, Hagman, Ducos, Hogan, and so on and so forth), while the plots and action scenes are invariably superb. Cornwell will never win the Nobel prize, but he certainly knows how to entertain so if it's that you're looking for have no fears whatsoever: this book is for you.