Sharpe's Rifles: Richard Sharpe and the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809

The Sharpe's series is historical fiction at its best. Cornwell does a thorough, scholarly job for his books and Sharpe and the other characters are wonderful. The reader of the audio books, Frederick Davidson, is one of the best in the business. He has mastered every character in the series: Sharpe, the product of the lowest London class as well as the French, the upper crust British, the lower and uppercrust Irish, the Spanish Grandees and the foot soldiers, the Germans, etc. I love the Cornwell books. I enjoyed the PBS series. The best, however, is the audio version read by Frederick Davidson. It brings to light a wonderful group of books

After reading a number of C.S Forester's Hornblower series, I realized the appreciation I have for historical fiction that contains a main character's development throughout that particular historical era. The Sharpe's series is just another superb example of this. This book is the first volume of the series, but not the first chronologically in the series. I personally would have preferred to start with 'Sharpe's Tiger' which is where Richard Sharpe begins his career as a Rifleman as a Private. Then continuing the readings chronologically following his military career.In Sharpe's Rifles, LT. Richard Sharpe (formerly known as SGT. Sharpe) becomes the commanding officer of a small detachment of Rifleman whom becomes separated from a retreating British Army in Spain. While retreating, Sharpe is confronted with the difficulties of adjusting to the role of an Officer while being harassed from a persistent attachment of French Dragoons. His difficulties increase exponentially when Sharpe gains a common ally against France, a small attachment of Spanish Calvary. Sharpe learns that the Spanish Calvary attachment is on a quest to reunite Spain's demoralization with a sacred item that must reach Santiago to give Spain one last fighting chance against the invading French.The smell of smoke, the war cries of combat, and the fate of brave men are well embedded throughout the book. This is an action packed book, page-turner that I would recommend to all interested in this era!

'Sharpe's Rifles' is the first of Bernard Cornwell's orginal Richard Sharpe series and is a wonderful start. Here we meet for the first time the maverick British officer Richard Sharpe and his tough-as-nails companion Sergeant Harper. The story takes place during the British retreat from Spain in 1809. French victory seems certain. Lieutnant Sharpe is seperated from his unit and forced to command a rag tag company of riflemen, who have little love for thier new leader, though enemy territory back to the British lines. On top of these worries, Spanish partisans insist that the British escort them to a remote village where they believe victory over the French is possible. This is a novel that takes you back in time to the desperate days in the struggle against Napoleon. Even if historical novels aren't your thing the adventure alone is worth the read.

Sharpe's Rifles is the place to start with Bernard Cornwell's gripping series of adventures which follow the career of Richard Sharpe, an officer in Wellington's army. Sharpe is unusual for an officer in Britain's army in the 19th Century - he was promoted from the ranks in a time when this was exceedingly rare. These novels follow Sharpe's career through the Peninsula war, culminating with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.In Sharpe's Rifles we meet the new Lieutenant Richard Sharpe as he is struggling to earn the respect of his fellow officers and the men he commands. As we meet him he is serving as a quartermaster, as the popular prejudice was that officers promoted from the ranks took to drink and could not be trusted in a fighting command. We learn that he is in fact an experienced professional soldier and won his commission by an act of bravery on the battlefield, so he is seething with frustration and a sense of injustice at his lot. During a disastrous retreat from Napoleon's pursuing troops Sharpe finds himself in command of a company of survivors separated from the main army. During the journey in which he leads the men back to safety (with a detour to help the Spanish guerillas and capture a town) he learns how to command and earns the respect he craves. We also see the birth of the friendship between Sharpe and Sergeant Harper, which is central to the rest of the series.Once I had started I found it impossible to put this book down, and then dashed out and bought the rest of the series. The story is gripping, the pace fast, and the characterisation excellent - Sharpe is no one-dimensional action man and his character continues to develop throughout the series. Cornwell is a very well-informed military historian and I learned a great deal about an era with which I was previously unfamiliar.

I am a history teacher and I am very serious about historical details. The characters in this book may not be real, but that makes no difference. The book is well written, the characters are complex, and the story line is steeped with historical detail. Cornwall is a fantastic writer who seems to capture the feeling of the Napoleonic Wars as if he were there himself. This book introduces the reader to Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper, two of the best written characters in modern fiction. The action starts almost immediately as Sharpe takes over the 95th Rifles. Your heart won't stop racing until the final page. Sharpe and Harper have grabbed my imagination as does the back drop of 19th century Spain. This is a must read for any student of the Napoleonic Wars.