Sharpe's Eagle


Sharpe's Eagle is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1981. The story is set in July 1809, in the midst of the Talavera Campaign during the Peninsular War. It was the first Sharpe novel published, but eighth in the series' chronological order.
In subsequent re-publications, Sharpe's Rifles was numbered as the "first" novel in the original series, while Eagle was numbered as the second.

Plot summary

It is July 1809. During the Talavera Campaign, Sir Arthur Wellesley's army has entered Spain to confront Marshal Victor. Richard Sharpe and his small group of thirty riflemen, separated from their regiment during the retreat from Corunna, are attached to the newly arrived South Essex Regiment. Commanded by the cowardly and bullying Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, the South Essex is a raw, inexperienced unit that has been drilled mercilessly with frequent use of the lash.
Sharpe takes it upon himself to shape the inexperienced and poorly trained redcoats into soldiers. His real problem turns out to be the officers, most of whom appear to be in the lap of Simmerson, including his nephew, the arrogant Lieutenant Christian Gibbons, and his best friend, Lieutenant John Berry. The situation is further complicated by the rivalry that emerges between Sharpe and Gibbons for the affections of Josefina Lacosta, a Portuguese noblewoman abandoned by her husband after he fled to Brazil. Only two appear to have any real experience: Captain Lennox, a veteran of the 78th Highlanders' action at the Battle of Assaye, where Sharpe himself won his commission; and Captain Thomas Leroy, an American Loyalist who fled with his merchant family to England during the American War of Independence.
From Talavera, General Wellesley dispatches the South Essex, alongside Sharpe's riflemen and the engineers of Major Michael Hogan, to blow up the bridge at Valdelacasa, so as to protect the army's flank as they march. Assisted by a Spanish regiment of equal number, the Regimento de la Santa Maria, the seemingly straightforward mission becomes a disaster when both Simmerson and the Spanish cross the bridge to engage four squadrons of French dragoons. Due to a combination of arrogance, poor training and incompetence, the two regiments are routed by the French, with hundreds of men killed and wounded, Lennox brought down by the enemy, and the loss of the King's Colours. As a dying request, Lennox asks Sharpe to take a French Imperial Eagle, "touched by the hand of Napoleon" himself, so as to erase the shame of losing their own standard.
Distinguishing himself during the skirmish after rallying several broken companies of the South Essex against the French and capturing one of their cannon, Sharpe finds himself gazetted captain. However, he is looked down upon by an officer corps still largely drawn from the aristocracy. Even worse, Sir Henry has made Sharpe the scapegoat of his follies, and intends on ruining Sharpe's career via his connections at Horse Guards. Only by capturing an Eagle can Sharpe stay in the army, let alone keep his promotion. He also makes enemies of Gibbons and Berry when Josefina falls out with Gibbons and Sharpe takes her under his protection. Later, after Josefina is raped by Gibbons and Berry, Sharpe swears vengeance, murdering Berry in a night-time skirmish against the French.
At the height of the Battle of Talavera, Simmerson panics at the approach of a French column, and orders the South Essex to withdraw from the line of battle. Sharpe keeps his riflemen in position, while he must decide whether to try to fulfill Lennox's request.
Sharpe's old friend, William Lawford, relieves Simmerson of command and orders the South Essex back into position, where their precise volleys destroy the column's cohesion. Sharpe leads the Light Company and his rifles into the fray and captures the French regiment's Eagle. Returning from the battlefield, Sharpe is ambushed by Gibbons, who attempts to murder Sharpe and take the Eagle for himself, but is killed by Harper. The capture of the Eagle secures Sharpe's promotion and restores the honour of the South Essex, but Sharpe's triumph is soured by Josefina's return to Lisbon, under the protection of a wealthy and aristocratic British cavalry captain.
Over a celebratory dinner, Wellesley bitterly informs his staff officers that, although the battle was won, the campaign will be accounted a failure, since General Cuesta has failed to shield the British from Marshal Soult's advancing reinforcements, and the British are obliged to retreat back to Portugal. However, Wellesley promises that the British will return to Spain, but on their own terms. To Sharpe's surprise and embarrassment, Wellesley concludes his speech by proposing a toast to "Sharpe's Eagle."

Characters

Fictional

A 1993 TV adaptation of the same name was produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network in the UK starring Sean Bean as Sharpe, Daragh O'Malley as Harper, Assumpta Serna as Teresa Moreno, Brian Cox as Major Hogan, David Troughton as Wellesley, Daniel Craig as Lieutenant Berry, Gavan O'Herlihy as Captain Leroy and Michael Cochrane as Simmerson. There are many differences between the plot of the television adaptation and the novel. Captain Lennox from the novel becomes a Major in the TV adaptation.

Publication history

This is Bernard Cornwell's first novel. Cornwell's plan was "to write a series of tales about the adventures of a British rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars". He had wanted to start with the Siege of Badajoz but on reflection, he felt that this was too ambitious for his first novel. He decided to start with a couple of easier books as a warm-up. Cornwell wanted to find a task just as impossible as the taking of Badajoz for Sharpe's first adventure. The capture of a Regimental Eagle from a French Regiment provided the challenge the author felt necessary to establish the reputations of both Sharpe and his close friend, Sergeant Patrick Harper.