September 1803 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #2)

This is another in the Sharpe series of books and it is as entertaining and as exciting as all of them are. This series is historically correct and reminds one of the great stories that so captivates a reader such as the Flashman and Hornblower classics of the past. A great read!!

Anyone who fails to read SHARPE'S TRIUMP foolishly neglects a wonderful opportunity to appreciate what separates the Highlanders from the boys, and deserves to be stomped on by an Indian elephant. Says so in the scriptures.

Sharpe's character certainly keeps me entertained - the history is very interesting - the author drags me through horror of war at a fast pace as I'm fighting everystep of the way and wanting to know the ending of that untrustworthy heathen Hakeswill - I'm in the battles as i can't wait to finish this book to enjoy the next adventure - so pleased I found Bernard Cornwell.

Sharpe's character certainly keeps me entertained - the history is very interesting - the author drags me through horror of war at a fast pace as I'm fighting everystep of the way and wanting to know the ending of that untrustworthy heathen Hakeswill - I'm in the battles as i can't wait to finish this book to enjoy the next adventure - so pleased I found Bernard Cornwell.

Cornwell takes us back to India in this book and the action is as intense as the novels set in Spain and France. These novels focusing on Sharpe's early career are especially interesting because the show him without the support of his Riflemen and without the officer's rank that is the source of much of his pride and many of his problems.
But this is the novel where Sergeant Sharpe suddenly realizes that his ambitions go far beyond his non-commissioned rank. And in making the decision to try to rise to officer he knows that he is consigning himself to an almost certain death, because his only chance to become an officer is through an act of suicidal bravery on the battlefield that is noticed by a senior officer.
The decision to attack at Assaye by Sir Arthur Wellesley gives Sharpe his opportunity. Longtime readers of the Sharpe novels know what he did to get himself promoted at Assaye, and Cornwell does his usual masterful job in describing this horrific, heroic deed.
This book has everything Sharpe fans have come to love, and anyone who has never read this series should gather up their pennies and carve out a few weekends to devour them all. You'll find yourself addicted.

In this second book of the series, Richard Sharpe is now a Sergeant still stationed in India. The year is 1803 and after surviving a massacre ordered by a mercenary European officer called Major Dodd, Sharpe sets off to find and bring him back to justice with his old friend Colonel McCandless of the East India Company. Sharpe had shared an adventure with the Colonel in the previous book. As with the first book in the series, Sharpe’s army career runs parallel with the Duke of Wellington who is at present known as General Wellesley and is looking to increase his good reputation as a General in in the Battle of Assaye where the British army is outnumbered by ten to one. I found this book highly entertaining and fast-paced with lots of action. I’ve been a fan of Bernard Cornwall for some time but only started reading the Sharpe series recently. I really don’t know what took me so long to get into them, but I will certainly read the next book in the series in the not too distant future.

The 2nd in the Richard Sharpe adventure series. After being the sole survivor of a brutal massacre, Sharpe inadvertently becomes General Wellesley's aide in the battle of Assaye where the British are terribly outnumbered and outgunned. However, the British and Scottish soldiers prove to be staunch under fire and their young Wellesley a brave leader. He is later known as the Duke of Wellington who defeats Napoleon at Waterloo. At the climax of the battle, Sharpe, mad with battle rage, defends Wellesley from a group of attackers after both of them are surrounded and separated from their soldiers. Sharpe eventually receives a battlefield commission (an ensign) and is able to seek vengeance on a corrupt and evil sergeant who has been trying to kill him. Action-packed and engaging from start to finish.

Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Tiger" introduces the reader to the great British hero Richard Sharpe, a young British solider whose career will see him rise from illiterate private to semi-literate lieutenant-colonel, always hungry for promotion, and always resentful of his superiors, especially those with superior manners and greater social advantages. He is often disappointed in love because he marries or connects above himself to aristocratic or middle class women whom he finds in dire circumstances. When they abandon him, they normally take any ill-gotten gains he has taken as booty, and leave him nearly destitute. He is never more spirited than when he has a pretext to thrash a superior officer or seduce his wife. But despite his bitterness, Sharpe is a British hero who is much needed in an age when the fashion is to belittle British valour, ingenuity and resourcefulness, all qualities the taciturn warrior demonstrates with admirable consistency.

"Sharpe's Tiger" is set at the end of the 18th century in Mysore, India, during the British siege of Seringapatam, opening in a British Army camp where redcoats are overwhelmed by a surprise enemy in the oppressive heat of an Indian summer. Aided by French mercenaries, the Maratha rajah of Seringapatam, the Tippoo is sanguine at the prospect of victory against any British assault. Cornwell describes the effete cruelty with which the Tippoo amuses himself dispatching his enemies. The Tippoo also lives in inordinate luxury alongside the Indian peasantry and city paupers who endure the siege without the luxuries that sustain the Tippoo. It is refreshing that Cornwell offers no excuses based on cultural relativity.

The accurate rendering of the historical background, together with scholarly epilogues to his work facilitates Cornwell's character driven novels, whose personal dramas unfold in credible settings. Richard Sharpe's initial nemesis is Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, is a cruel, vindictive, rapacious, petty tyrant, even more jealous of the more fortunate than Sharpe. The future Duke of Wellington, Colonel Arthur Wellesley, makes his first appearance here, though he makes cameos in nearly all the Sharpe novels, coming to know the upstart hero well, bt never quite approving of him.

"Sharpe's Tiger" is a gripping introduction to the expansion of the British East India Company's early phase of expansion in India, and whets the appetite for Sharpe's crucial role in the Wellington's Peninsular War and his triumphant progress through France.

Sharpe's Triumph is a worthy if less entertaining and surprising successor to Sharpe's Tiger. Indeed, there is not much wrong with the ST except the onset of a formulaic pattern. Richard Sharpe is, apparently a killing machine--a 19th century James Bond, without polish and without maritinis (cheap arrack will suffice nicely).

The officer rescued in installment #1, who helped our hero earn his sergeant stripes becomes mentor and father figure in #2 and enlists Sharpe to help him track down a rogue officer who has gone native, literally helping the Redcoats' enemies. Surprisingly Sharpe's nemesis in Tiger survives into Triumph--always remember to be sure the tigers are hungry before you throw your enemy to them, folks.

What keeps this seeming as silly as its bare bones description is Cornwell's skill as a narrator and the still interesting exotic environs of India. This could however wear thin if each subsequent edition becomes just more of the same, with Sharpe moving relentlessly, ever-upward. One Fire and Ice fantasy is more than enough for my taste. We shall see....

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the Sharpe novel series. These novels follow the career of Sergeant Richard Sharpe in the British army. Sharpe's Triumph is the second novel of the series.

In this novel Sharpe is the only survivor of a massacre. The attack is lead by the ruthless Major Dodd. Dodd is a traitorous British officer who has sold his services to a local Indian prince.

Sharpe teams with Colonel McCandless to pursue Dodd. In the pursuit of Dodd, Sharpe and McCandless join the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. (Wellington will be the victorious general at the Battle of Waterloo.)

Sharpe himself is pursued by the evil Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. Hakeswill hates Sharpe because of the events in the first novel. Hakeswill has falsely obtained a warrant for the arrest of Sharpe. His plan is to arrest Sharpe and then kill him.

Sharpe is not a perfect hero. He can be gallant and heroic. But he can also be ruthless and cruel. Although he is only a sergeant, Sharpe dreams of returning to England as an officer - an impossible dream in British army of the early 1800s.

The British army in the early nineteenth century was a hard, cruel, deadly experience. Cornwell's novel gives us a glimpse into the gritty reality of that era.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Sharpe series looks like a more "grown-up" Flashman. The books appear to be just as accurately researched and the writing is very good.
This story starts with a massacre which Sharpe miraculously survives, goes on to the siege of the city of Ahmednuggur where Wellesley first demonstrates his military audacity, and ends in the hard-fought (and well-described) battle of Assaye. Throughout this overall arc there is an understory involving a hated pursuit of Sharpe by Sergeant Hawkswill (who first appeared in "Sharpe's Tiger") and Sharpe's own pursuit (aided by Colonel McCandless, whom Sharpe had befriended in the earlier novel) of the instigator of the massacre that opened up the tale.
This is an exciting and engrossing read. The characters are perhaps a little cliche but keep the story flowing and the entertainment on the go. The battles are really very well described incorporating that "fog of war" one so often hears about. I finished this book wondering how men could endure such violent brutality - but evidently they did. Highly recommended!

This is a fine book about a forgotten but important battle in a long-gone empire. The battle of Assaye, won against far superior numbers of natives and European mercenaries by a great general who made his reputation there, quelled native revolt and let the British push north into previously unoccupied parts of India.

Richard Sharpe is a sergeant here, longing for promotion to officer but with scant chance of it in the class-constrained British army. He is detached to hunt a deserter who has gone over to the other side, to become a coldblooded but effective officer. Sharpe is the sole survivor of a massacre by Major William Dodd's troops, and wants him taken down.

Dodd serves Colonel Anthony Pohlmann, also a defector from the East India Company. Now army commander of the Mahratta Confederation, he has become in the process a fabulously rich, elephant-riding, harem-keeping nabob. Sharpe must weigh Pohlmann's atractive offer to change sides himself, and meanwhile dodge a trumped-up criminal charge levied by an enemy suspecting Sharpe's deepest secret.

The period and place detail are excellent. The descriptions of India under the British Raj reminded me of Fraser's "Flashman in the Great Game", although the Flashman black comedies are quite different in tone.

Bernard Cornwell writes Sharpe with some subtlety. His overall detail compares with Patrick O'Brian's, although not his tale's charm. Cornwell's battlefield descriptions of Assaye - not only of the battle itself but of its preliminary maneuvers - are exemplary. Readers of military fiction know how hard it can be for authors to describe multiple units maneuvering over complicated terrain, responding to each other simultaneously and in the smoke of chaos, and for readers to keep it all straight. Cornwell makes it all crystal clear despite the passage's length and the battle's complexity. And Cornwell plausibly fits the fictional Sharpe into a key moment of the historical general's career.

I do have a few problems with Sharpe's character development. In opening chapters he is portrayed as scheming to embezzle part of an ammunition shipment. Petty graft like this may have been common among noncoms in India (and a lot of wars) but it's an odd way to depict someone intended to be developed as the hero of twenty or so historical novels. Perhaps Cornwell does it to dramatize the grim life and outlook of the enlisted ranks,and of someone from Sharpe's low birth, but it didn't work for me.

A flaw, but not enough to compromise an otherwise excellent story.

Richard Sharpe is the definitive Bernard Cornwell hero -- poor, uneducated, intelligent, strong, witty, and ruthless. "Sharpe's Triumph" is the second book in Cornwell's "India Trilogy," which kicks off Cornwell's epic Richard Sharpe series that clocks in at well over 10 books. Fans of Cornwell's other books will see nothing to surprise them here, and that's a compliment. If you haven't read any of Cornwell's books, you should start with "Sharpe's Tiger," the first novel in the India Trilogy.

Four years have passed since Sharpe first won his sergeant's stripes in "Sharpe's Tiger." Rationing the wealth he took off the dead Indian warlord, the Tippoo, Sharpe is living a pretty darn good life. All that is shattered by two events. The first occurs when Sharpe runs afoul of William Dodd, a British turncoat who now fights for profit for the Mahratta warlords. Dodd slaughters a British post and nearly does in Sharpe in the process. Soon, Sharpe is riding alongside the Scottish intelligence legend Colonel McCandless to track Dodd down and bring him to justice.

The second event is largely unknown to Sharpe, and that is the hatching of a revenge plot by Sharpe's nemesis, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill. Sharpe left Hakeswill to die with the tigers in the last novel, but like so many fictional heroes he didn't stay around to witness Hakeswill's demise. So Hakeswill escapes, and has concocted a scheme wherein he will use the draconian system of British military law to lay Sharpe low.

All this boils in the seething cauldron of General Wellesley's 1803 Indian Campaign that sees Wellesley lead the Brits in two of the Empires most famous battles - one a lightning attack on a walled city, and another a field battle while vastly outnumbered at the village of Assaye. These real-world events helped the young General grow into Lord Wellington, future foe of Napoleon, and in the hands of Cornwell, it's easy to see why they made the young man's reputation.

As Cornwell's fans will attest, the man has no equal when it comes to describing a battlefield in understandable, riveting prose. He never loses control of the battlefield, tactics and strategy are clear, the carnage is undeniable, and he even injects a classic British sense of pageantry and honor into the maelstrom. In "Sharpe's Triumph," not only do we get to see Sharpe dealing death the way only Sharpe can, we also get treated to extended passages focusing on how the dreaded Scottish infantry marches into, and through, certain death to win the battle. Cornwell never loses control or perspective, yet it is clear that the British army had more than its share of supermen in its anonymous infantry ranks.

Clocking in at under 300 pages, "Sharpe's Triumph" is a concise, lean tome, even by Cornwell's standards. For thrills, for laughs, and for a sense of place and time, you must read the Sharpe Series, and "Sharpe's Triumph" is a fine entry into that saga.

Sharpe's triumph tracks the adventures of Richard Sharpe during the Mahratta campaign, which had its climax at the battle of Assaye.

In later years The Iron Duke, Lord Wellington, was to say that this was his favorite battle. And no wonder. In those days he was simply Arthur Wellesley and yet had to make himself a reputation.

He began to do so with the siege of Ahmednuggur, where he ordered a rapid esclalade of the walls with ladders instead of a protracted siege of the city. This was to become a trademark move for Wellington. He has often been criticised for the waste of life of his troops at sieges such as Badajoz and Salamanca. But such critics seem to forget that Wellington did not have the luxury of the time needed for protracted sieges during the peninsular campaign. He needed to strike fast and win fast before the French could concentrate against him.

He may have learned from Ahmednuggur that a brash opportunist can quickly seize a city through sheer surprise, when the enemy expects a cautious siege.

But Ahmednuggur was only the prelude to Assaye, where Wellington faced a combined Mahratta force outnumbering his army many times. With an eye to the lay of the land that was to become another of his trademarks, Wellington realised that he could outflank the Mahratta army if he could cross the river in front of their position. Locals assured him that there was no ford of the river, but Wellesley reasoned that two Indian villages would not be sited just across the river from each other if they could not communicate. He personally led the reconnaissance and found the ford he needed.

However, the Mahratta army, well led by European Officers, performed a smart turning manoeuvre and managed to counter Wellingtons master stroke. But in the process they lost any room for their huge cavalry force to operate.

In narrow confines the superior fighting qualities of the british infantry proved too much for the Indians, who fell back. Wellington also made brilliant use of his own small cavalry force to smash his enemies, to win a battle that immediately catapulted him to the forefront of the military.

Sharpe fans will love how our old friend Richard (now a mere Sergeant) is able to see both sides of the conflict. The senior Mahratta European officer, Anthony Pohlman, offers him a life of wealth and luxury for his services when he visits the enemy camp on a spying mission with Colonel McCandless. But Sharpe resists and finds himself holding spare horses for Wellesley at Assaye.

With a vengeful Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill on his tale Sharpe knows that only a promotion to officer will save his bacon, and the only sure route to promotion is bravery on the field. The rest is history (or at least it seems so at this stage)

A great and exciting read and another wonderful Sharpe adventure.

Readers of Cornwell's Sharpe series have long been tantalized by references to infantry Sergeant Sharpe being raised (promoted) from the ranks of the enlisted men to the gentleman's officer corps by Lord Wellington in gratitude for having saved his life on the battlefield at Assaye in India, back in 1803. In this volume, we finally get the full story behind that seminal event in Sharpe's career, one that is mentioned in every volume in the series. At the time, a number of Indian princes (the Mahratta confederation) had banded together to resist further British incursion into their territory, and assembled a massive army of European-led units along with local and Arab mercenaries. As in many of the other books, Sharpe is sent on a small mission and ends up meeting the main villain of the piece, here a renegade English officer who is part of the Mahratta forces. Sharpe is later detailed to help capture the rogue officer, leading him to Wellington's first major set piece battle, at Assaye. And while the book is ostensibly a Sharpe book, it is this battle which Cornwell is clearly most interested in, and with good reason. In defeating an army some 10-20 times its number and equal equipment, Wellington's victory is one the great feats of military history (one which he ranked above his more famous win at Waterloo). Cornwell's recreation of the battle makes it eminently clear that two Scottish Highlander regiments (the 74th and 78th won the day for the British.
Many of the usual Sharpe elements are there, bloody fighting, foul villains (including the odious Sgt. Hakeswill), treachery, and climactic massive battle. What's more interesting about this book, however, is how different this younger Sharpe is from the scarred veteran we meet in the Peninsular Wars. He has yet to be in a real battle, and is clearly tentative and bewildered by the fog of battle. He's on his own, with no men of his own to command, and without a sidekick to add any dram of levity to the tale (although the dour, Bible-thumping, vegetarian, Scottish Colonel he's attached to is a somewhat comic figure at times). There is a woman he beds, but she�s much more peripheral to the plot compared with the ladies of Spain and Portugal Sharpe later encounters. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is when he is tempted by the offer to become an officer in the Mahratta army, with men to command, and riches to follow. He is clearly wavering but his true dream is to be able to return to his gutter origins wearing a British officer's uniform, the only one that counts.

If you haven't yet read Sharpe's Tiger, I recommend that you begin your reading of this exciting series with that book. The characters and story in Sharpe's Triumph will make more sense that way.

If you liked Sharpe's Tiger, you will probably enjoy Sharpe's Triumph even more. The story here is more historically accurate, the various battles are brilliantly described, and readers will find it easier to identify with Sharpe as the hero of the story.

As the book opens, Sergeant Sharpe has been sent to pick up some ammunition . . . a seemingly dull assignment that soon becomes quite meaningful. There's a rogue lieutenant from the British East India Company who has a bounty on his head, and Sharpe is soon drawn into the search for Lieutenant Dodd and the sepoys he took with him.

In the background, Sharpe has been enjoying a leisurely four years since he earned his sergeant's stripes in Sharpe's Tiger. The cushion that his wealth has brought is about to become a curse, however.

In the search for Dodd, Sharpe is presented with the opportunity to better his station in life, meets a new love interest, and has some hard choices to make.

The high point of the story comes in the detailed recounting of the Battle of Assaye which was important to defeating the Indian forces and helped establish the reputation of Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington).

Those who don't want to read about the bloody side of war would do well to avoid this book.

This is a sublime piece of historical fiction. We are taken back to the early days of Sharpe's adventursom career, when he was a lowly Sarjeant in the 33rd Foot (West Riddings) Aspiring to higher spheres of endeavor, Sharpe as usual must confront head-on the aristocratic and stilted system of promotion then existant in the British army. That system is personified in the character of Sir Arthur Wellsley. Cornwall's depiction of Sir Arthur, seems an astonishingly accurate one. Wellsley was cold, arrogant, and extremly compitent. The battle of Assaye (1803) which smashed the Mahratta confederation and paved the way for ultimate British conquest of India, was one of the Duke's most inspired and risky battles. He even rated it higher than Waterloo, and one is apt to almost agree with his opinion. As usual, Cornwall's depiction of napoleanic fighting is flawless. His description of Assaye is unsurpassed. Here sir Arthur confidantly lead his small army of 5,000 British and Seapoy troops against the Mahratta mass of over 40,000 and 100 guns. The advance of the 78th Highlanders, and their endurment of the horrific Mahratta bombardment must stand as one of the great epic infantry assults of the entire period. The two Scottish regiments in Sir Arthur's command, the 74th and 78th Highlanders, won the campaign for him, and Cornwall does not fail to do them justice in this long forgotton saga. Sir Arthur's victory at Assaye should dispel the notion that European armies defeated their colonial opponets by means soley of superior technology. Sheer determination, tactical brilliance, and iron discipline won the day for the British against an Indian opponet who was as well equipped as they, and far more numerous. Cornwall brilliantly depicts all these elements while giving us a colorful collection of characters, including a youthful Sharpe who must prove himself to become what he is later in the series.

On a Richard Sharpe timeline this is the second volume in the series , but not in the order of publication. This is also the second of the novels to take place in India.
The year is 1803 and Sergeant Richard Sharpe is an assistant in the armory at Seringapatam ; his malevolent mortal enemy Obadiah Hakeswill is plotting his revenge ; Arthur Wellesley's army is preparing to move against the armies of the Mahratta confederation. All of the elements are in place for a great tale from Bernard Cornwell , and the reader is not to be disappointed!
The tale's start has Sergeant Sharpe lying wounded at a East India company outpost which has been treacherously attacked by a renegade officer , Lieutenant Dodd , leading a company of sepoy deserters. Sharpe manages to survive the massacre and reports the events to the kindly Scottish Colonel McCandless , the chief of Wellesley's intelligence service. McCandless , accompanied by Sharpe , sets after Dodd ,now a Major in Colonel Anthony Pohlmann's compoo ( an Indian version of a regiment) , a component of the Mahratta leader Scindia's army. Meanwhile Obadiah Hakeswill has schemed against Sharpe and has obtained an arrest warrant to aid in his plot to destroy and rob our hero of his riches obtained in "Sharpe's Tiger".
All of these elements come together at the obscure Indian village of Assaye--the scene of Arthur Wellesley's greatest military triumph. In the course of the battle , Sharpe is commissioned an Ensign by Wellesley , and the career of Richard Sharpe set in motion. This is one of the very best battles in all of the Sharpe novels I have read so far (I am up to eleven to date); probably the best of the three "Indian Chronicles" .
Highly recommended , and very entertaining. Five stars.

This was my first Sharpe's book, but it sure won't be my last. On the strength of Sharpe's Triumph, I will read all the Sharpe's books in chronological order. I have already begun Sharpe's Tiger, and it is a captivating as Triumph.
Like all the Sharpe books, this one follows the adventures of infantryman, Richard Sharpe, a lowly born Englishman serving and making his way in Her Majesty's Army around the turn of the 19th Century. This puts him in the midst of the great Napoleonic Era of war making. A fascinating time for Military buffs. This particular novel is set in India and revolves around the battle of Assaye.
The strengths of this books are these:
First, this is an excellent historical novel. The firearms used, the methods of combat, the Indian political settings, and the settings are very accurate and transporting. But please don't get the idea the book is a dry history lesson. Cornwall wraps the history within a great, old fashioned tale of revenge and blood.
Secondly, the characters in this book, both real and imagined, are carefully drawn and utterly convincing. My favorite was the author's portrayal of General Arthur Wellesley (before he became the Duke of Wellington). The reader really gets a good sense of what made Wellesley such a great commander of men. The great General and future Duke is completely brought to life.
Finally, the battle writing is superb. Cornwall supplies you with a map of the battleground, and his writing is so clear and concise that you can actually see in your mind's eye the movement of men and the progress of the battle. It all makes sense! Battle during this time period was especially horrific with cannons pounding into the infantry to soften them up and cavalry sweeping down on rows of men the heavy blades. Cornwall has a knack for making the reader smell the spent black powder and feel the splashing of warm blood.
The fascinating aspect of this series is that Richard Sharpe is a war crazed soldier, seeking battle with joy in his heart. He really loves to fight and make war with no apologies and no analysis. This is the characteristic that makes the character so refreshing and exciting.

A well researched tale of a man's man as he swashbuckles his way through history. As with many historical novels, liberties are taken with the characters as multiple events and personalities are combined into one person or event. However the author manages to extract all of the juiciest and most exciting bits of adventure and peril from a period in time which is often overlooked or ignored by history teachers--certainly in America--and movie producers (a major source of information for far too many people.) Very good, crisp read with excellent action and well developed personalities. Worth your time and money.

The second in Cornwell's Sharpe series and every bit as good as the first. As before Sharpe's activities lead him into the center of the action, culminating in his participation with the young Wellesley achieving victory against overwhelming odds at Assaye. Cornwell makes you feel as if you are right there, while at the same time teaching a history lesson you won't soon forget.

I read somewhere that SHARPE'S EAGLE was the first book written in the series by Bernard Cornwell and then he wrote SHARPE'S TIGER, which, chronologically, is set in 1799, four years before SHARPE'S TRIUMPH. That didn't keep me from beginning the series with this book, which is a rousing adventure story full of derring-do, knick-of-time escapes, and terrific battle scenes. Sgt. Richard Sharpe is a real "man's man" and comes across as being both noble, human, and rough around the edges at the same time. He's neither a saint, nor is he a sinner. Like most of us, he's a combination of both, but knows when it is time to do the right thing simply because that's what he must do...though he does struggle with his conscience now and then wondering if he really should stick his neck out. Fortunately, for all, especially Sir Arthur Wellesley, Sgt. Sharpe is close at hand when desperately needed and more than earns the promotion from ranker to gentleman (Though Sir Arthur, while grateful, does harbor upperclass beliefs about common men rising above their station). That said, I'm looking forward to reading all of the Sharpe books in chronological order. Thank you, Mr. Cornwell, for giving me another fictional hero to follow from adventure to adventure.

Cornwell does it again with another installment in this highly readable series. This novel deals with probably the most amazing battle of the entire series, Wellington's early "Triumph" at Assaye. Cornwell's writing overall has gotten progressively better as the series has progressed. Here his prose crackles with energy in the battle scenes (especially Sharpe's long fabled and finally recreated rescue of Wellington) and gives us some of Sharpe's best personal moments when he is offered a position as a mercenary. Will he leave the British enlisted ranks to seek his fortune as a soldier for hire? Long time readers know the answer but it still makes for good reading. Of course I would be remiss not to mention the appearance of Obidiah Hakeswill. Cornwell knows he has a classic villian on his hands and he plays it to the hilt making his evil Sergeant worse than ever. This is a must read for fans of the series and an interesting historical novel about Wellington's most amazing military feat.

The second of Richard Sharpe's adventures and, to be absolutely frank, a terribly disappointing one. The normally excellent Bernard Cornwell has written a story that, whilst undeniably of the same stable as the other Sharpe novels, differs sufficiently from his normal route as to lessen the impact the story would and should have had.
Instead of our intrepid hero going off on his own to be the saviour of the day and the scurge of all evil, Sharpe spends most of his time as right hand man to the then Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington.
This book is largely speaking a filler between the excellent Sharpe's Tiger and the hopefully excellent Sharpe's Fortress and provides a weak second installment of the India years trilogy. Sharpe should have been in the middle of the battle of Assaye that this book depicts, and not way behind the lines watching with the commander of the British forces, making sure that his superior always has a horse.
Coupled with this, the awful Obadiah Hakeswill makes an unnecessary appearance as he tries to frame Sharpe for assaulting a British officer and the bad guy is overplayed with repeated use of the word "Monsewer" when describing his French second-in-command. In fact, the main redeeming factor in this book is the interest that Cornwell raises in his ever-present Historical Note at the end which mentions the true story of this book's arch villain, Lieutenant William Dodd. It is always these historical notes that provide Cornwell books with that little extra spice, of knowing exactly what did and did not happen, and bringing closer the reader to the action.
It is, however, with heavy heart that I have to say this particular Sharpe is unusual in its mediocrity. A tale that may have merited being told, but perhaps not one that required an entire book; at least, not one told in this way.

This is another entry on the Sharpe series. It is fun, entertaining and very readable. Cornwell's research is as excellent as usual. He takes some licenses for the shake of the story and continuity, but this is OK. Some people are outraged by the portrait of some of the real historical characters, but historical characters are rarely depicted accurately in historical fiction, so I think this can be forgiven. Besides, usually a more serious account of these characters is given at the end of the book on the Historical Note.

Many people insist in compare this series with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. I don't think this is fair for any of the series, they are different entities. What they have in common is that once you start you may get hooked and devour one book after another...

And in the literary world today that is a rare and marvelous thing.

I read this book out of sequence, after starting my 'Sharpe Experience' with 'Sharpe's Rifles.'I think I might have enjoyed it more if I'd read the chronologically earlier book in the series, 'Sharpe's Tiger'. I found myself trying to adjust to Sharpe with a lower rank and in a different setting. I was so used to Sharpe the officer gaining the confidence of his men, that 'sergeant Sharpe' seemed a very differeent character to me.

In fact, I think 'Sharpe's Triumph' is hurt by its title character playing more of a supporting role. Sharpe is almost overshadowed by his superiors, and even by the story's villain!

Also, the inclusion of a real renegade officer as the 'bad guy' makes for something of anticlimactic ending...though it at least offers a satisfying conclusion to one of the book's subplots, and a hint of the respect Sharpe will gain in the future.

I would caution new readers not to start with this volume. Those who are interested in the 'India trilogy' should read them in the correct order. Personally, I'll go back to the 'Napoleonic War' stories.

Sharpe's Triumph describes the seminal event that gave birth to what is the dominant theme of the 19-book Sharpe series. By rescuing his commanding officer and then being rewarded with a commission, our "son of a common whore" begins his rise into the officer ranks, where he has to deal with the disdain of the aristocrats and the distrust of the soldiers.
Cornwell has created a deeply complex character in Sharpe. He's caught between the rock of his ambition to be more than a foot soldier and the hard place of an officer corps that is less than welcoming to someone from the gutter. Before Assaye, Sharpe was never totally happy, but after his triumph, readers will see surliness become his dominant mood. He's growing into the scarred, mean-tempered officer of the Peninsula campaign.
A final note about Cornwell's description of the Battle of Assaye, which Wellington called his greatest victory. There's almost a surreal quality to it. Whereas Wellington was always outnumbered when fighting the French later, here there are suicidal odds against him, 20 to 1 by some reckonings. I kept expecting him to break off the engagement, but he never did until he'd won the field. It feels like three or four of your buddies and you are taking on the college football team. As a result, there's an intimate quality to the undertaking. With so few troops under his command, you understand how Wellington could control the battle as well as he did. And the fact that he would personally lead a charge against a battery makes sense. It's like seeing a great band at a small college hangout years before they are doing stadium tours.
In some Sharpe stories, he's the center of the action; in others, he's just one exciting part of a larger story. Sharpe's Triumph belongs to the latter category. It's a tribute to Cornwell that he can write both types so well. This is the book where we see that Cornwell's inspiration for writing about the Napoleonic Wars was at least partially the fascinating figure of the Duke of Wellington.

I thought I wouldn't be interested in historical adventure novels. But, then I discovered Bernard Cornwell, and I can't get enough. I am following the adventures of Private/Sergeant/Ensign Richard Sharpe as fast as I can read. The chores are gathering dust as we speak. I enjoyed Cornwell's :Saxon Tales" as well. Really good rousing stuff. Super heroes and super villains..How can one go wrong??

I confess! I saw this book in a store and paid retail price rather than wait for the better deal from the store.com. That's because I have every one of Cornwell's books (including three contemporary thrillers) and I KNEW what was between the covers: a page turning yarn with vividly wrought characters, combined with impeccable historical accuracy. OK-- almost impeccable, but only to further the plot. I am so happy that Cornwell didn't stop the Sharpe series with Waterloo, and you will be too. One caution: if this is your first Bernard Cornwell book, your savings account balance is about to decrease. Bravo Mr. Cornwell!

Readers of the Sharpe series of books have been given tantalizing hints of how our intrepid hero rose from the enlisted ranks to that of a commissioned officer in Wellington's army. This book, at last, tells the tale, and an exciting one it is! Cornwell is an excellent writer, with an eye for even the smallest detail. His description of the battle of Assaye is, in my mind, the finest portrayal of any Napoleonic-era fight that I have ever read. The book has a lot of virtues; strong characterization, good plot, etc., but the battle scenes alone are worth the reading! All true Sharpe fans will love this work.

These books are such fun... exhilarating, adventurous. It's like Jack Reacher in the 1800s (If Jack Reacher were English and write a bit dumber).
Start with Sharpe's Tiger and ready yourself for a long series.

With the possible exceptions of Edgar Ride Burroughs (Tarzan or his Mars series) and Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) I cannot think of another writer who has written a series of books with the same hero so very well; maintaining the reader's interest, a high level of historic research, interesting characters, and intriguing plots. This book is one of that series and I have read them all and loved every one. Author Bernard Cornwell has not been able to maintain the same level in his non-Sharpe novels but the Sharpes are cracking good.

The second Cornwell novel I have read, and I thought it was spectacular! A couple years after the setting of Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe is now a Sergeant with aspirations of moving up into the ranks of the commissioned. The characters and setting are brilliant. The depiction of the battle is suspenseful and detailed without being boring. Not only will you be entertained, but also you will learn some history and about some famous historical characters. A superbly told tale that leaves you immensely satisfied. I can't wait to read on in this series. Highly recommended for anyone who likes history or adventure.

Again Bernard Cornwell has produced another Sharp's masterpiece. He does an excellent job of blending history with fiction to provide a feeling for the time. I wish I could find another series that I enjoy as much as the Sharp's series. My only regret upon completing the book of was that it appears that there may only be one more book. The one where are Sharp becomes a lieutenant.

I enjoy researching Battles and Cornwell does a great job of describing how this Battle was fought while at the same time giving us the story of Richard Sharpe. The map at the front of the edition I have showing the deployment and subsequent tactical redeployment of the opposing forces makes a nice accompaniament to Cornwell's depiction of how Wellington deployed his forces.

The Sharpe novels may not be great literature, but you know what you're getting and all the new "India" novels maintain the level of quality and entertainment value Sharpe fans have come to expect. Assaye is where the legend that would become Richard Sharpe was born. This book tells the story well, with fewer trumpets and pennants than choking dust and stifling Indian heat.

A more raw telling of times in the military during the Napoleonic era than others like Forrester or O'Brian. Yet, leaves the reader with a more detailed sense of what may have been all the while commanding a steady foray into a plot that promises to thicken over the hall of the series. Glad I read it and look forward to the rest.

I have read all the Sharpe books and bought this particular chapter in England on a visit. At the time, the next in the series, Sharpe's Trafalgar was soon to come out, so I purchased it over the store.co.uk and it too is wonderful. As a suggestion, if you are a fan of the Sharpe books, check out the Roger Brook series by Dennis Wheatley. These books are out of print and difficult to locate in the States, but they will fill the time in between the time while waiting for the next Sharpe novel. And I will guarantee you get hooked as strongly by Wheatley as you have by Cornwell.

I recommend this to all shapre fans. However, I would not recommend it to people who are virgins to the Sharpe series. I would tell them to start out with Sharpe's Rifles. For non-virgins, I would say the best part of the book was learning how Sharpe made the jump from the ranks to the officer's mess. Other than that, I found the book not as good as other Sharpe books.

Most of the Sharpe books I had read over a very short interval and the Cornwell formula started to get too dreary and predictable. Having not seen Sharpe for quite awhile and getting reacquainted with Sharpe again in this book was a real pleasure. The formula works and works well! As usual I read it a furious pace to keep up with the action. Just great!

Another good story about Sharpe. I will definitely be following his adventures. I'm starting this series many years after the original publishing dates, but it appears worth it. I just have a couple dozen, (or so ?), to catch up on?

This is number two in the series and is typical of Bernard Cornwell with detailed accounts of historical events that support the storyline of his work. Action packed throughout. Easy reading but hard to put down.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT! Cornwell is extremely descriptive in his writing and his ability to convey characters as real people. Richard Sharpe, a rake, but an honorable rake! I'm already on the next book in the series and loving it, as well.

Small wonder that the brick and mortar shopping venues are in trouble; with Amaazon shopping is just a click and a delivery, so simple and precise and I can purchase used books and tapes at a substantial discount!
Hail the new medium!!
Matt

Small wonder that the brick and mortar shopping venues are in trouble; with Amaazon shopping is just a click and a delivery, so simple and precise and I can purchase used books and tapes at a substantial discount!
Hail the new medium!!
Matt

You save a whole 8 cents buying the Kindle version instead of the paper version. This joke of a pricing difference is going guarantee the eventual failure of the Kindle unless the store decides to do something about this.