Sharpe's Gold
Sharpe's Gold is the second (though ninth in chronological order) historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell first published in 1981. The story is set in August 1810 and features the destruction of Almeida during the Peninsular War.
 First edition | |
| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Richard Sharpe stories |
| Genre | Historical novels |
| Publisher | Collins |
Publication date | December 1981 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio-CD |
| Pages | 252 pp (hardcover edition) 256 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | 0-00-222129-2 (hardcover edition) ISBN 0-00-616545-1 (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 30778321 |
| Preceded by | Sharpe's Eagle |
| Followed by | Sharpe's Company (publication) Sharpe's Escape (chronological) |
Plot summary
General Wellington orders Richard Sharpe to find out what happened to Claud Hardy, one of Major Michael Hogan's exploring officers, who was sent to locate Spanish gold thought to be in the (fictional) hamlet of Casatejada, and to retrieve the gold himself through any means necessary, as Wellington's army is in desperate need of funds.
Sharpe sets off with his small company and links up with Major Kearsey, another of Hogan's exploring officers. Kearsey makes it clear that he believes that the gold belongs to the Spanish and the purpose of the mission is to return it to them. They meet the local partisan commander El Catolico, who delights in torturing French prisoners to death.
When Kearsey is captured by the French, Sharpe decides to go into the town and rescue him, as the partisans trust the major. They succeed, at the cost of a few of their own men, and free not only Kearsey, but also Teresa Moreno and her brother Ramon. The Spanish guerrillas soon enter the town.
El Catolico knows about the gold and is certain the British want to take it for themselves and abandon Portugal. Sharpe is strongly attracted to Teresa, who is betrothed to El Catolico. Her father, Cesare, is El Catolico's second-in-command. El Catolico claims that the French took the gold and captured Claud Hardy.
El Catolico assigns partisans to escort Sharpe and his men partway back toward British lines, but when they leave, Sharpe doubles back late at night to search a fairly new grave. El Catolico is not fooled, and his men are waiting for Sharpe, but Patrick Harper learns that the gold is hidden under a large pile of manure nearby. Sharpe takes Teresa hostage in order to extricate himself and his men.
They head for the fortress of Almeida and are harried by both the partisans and by French troops. Sharpe and Teresa fall in love. When questioned, she admits that El Catolico murdered Hardy (after the latter found out about the gold) and that her fiancé intends to use the gold for his own ends, rather than turn it over to the provisional Spanish government in Cadiz.
Sharpe and his men are about to be overrun by French lancers, but are rescued by a unit of King's German Legion cavalry under Captain Lossow, who was sent by Hogan to search for them and take them to Almeida. The officers meet with the commander of the fortress, the English Brigadier Cox. Sharpe had an order personally written by Wellington, ordering that all officers give Sharpe whatever assistance he requires, but Kearsey had torn it up, so Cox is suspicious of his motives. El Catolico and his men arrive the same night and lodge a claim for the gold on behalf of the Spanish government.
Unable to contact Wellington, as the telegraph is destroyed by French artillery before a message can be sent, Cox orders the gold to given to El Catolico and that Sharpe and his men join the besieged garrison. That night, there is a final showdown between Sharpe and El Catolico on the roof above Sharpe's bedroom window. Sharpe, knowing that El Catolico is the far superior swordsman, traps El Catolico's rapier after it impales his leg long enough for Sharpe to disarm and kill him.
However, since Cox insists on giving the gold to the partisans, Sharpe decides to blow up the fortress's magazine. Before he can do so, however, a stray French shell ignites the gunpowder trail he had laid to the magazine. The ensuing massive explosion breaches the fortress walls and kills many of the garrison, including Kearsey. Cox is forced to surrender. Sharpe and Lossow depart with their men and the gold before the French forces enter.
Teresa returns to the partisans. Sharpe learns that the gold was needed to pay for the construction of the enormous defensive Lines of Torres Vedras, which form an impregnable barrier between the British Army's base in Lisbon and Marshal Masséna's invading army. Hogan reassures Sharpe that the gold was more necessary to Wellington than Almeida.
Sharpe is granted a month's leave by Wellington, so he takes the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with Josefina LaCosta, his love interest from Sharpe's Eagle, who has set herself up in Lisbon as an exclusive courtesan. When she complains after Sharpe chases away her latest client, a wealthy lieutenant, Sharpe laughs and drops gold coins, showing that he has enough of "Sharpe's gold" for her.
Characters
- Richard Sharpe — Captain in the British army, officer of rifles
- Sergeant Patrick Harper — sergeant in the British army, close friend and ally to Sharpe
- Major Michael Hogan — Wellington's intelligence-gathering officer
- Major Kearsey — one of Major Hogan's exploring officers
- Colonel Joaquín 'El Católico' Jovellanos — local partisan commander
- Teresa Moreno — Partisan leader
- Ramon Moreno — Teresa's brother
References or allusions
References to actual history, geography and current science
Sharpe’s story continues to be "intimately linked"[1] with the real-life story of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who appears again in this book. Here the Duke is suffering from money worries as Cornwell states he "knew that money kept an army efficient".[2]
Although El Catolico and his treasure trove are literary inventions, the guerrillas and gold alluded to in this novel were an important part of the war against France ("the twin allies of British victory"); Cornwell admits that the "Sharpe books do not do justice to the guerillas".[2]
The books tells a fictionalised account of the destruction of Almeida which, as Cornwell notes "conveniently for a writer of fiction",[3] remains a mystery. The Lines of Torres Vedras mentioned at the end of the novel are also a historical reality. Both sites were visited by the author during his research for the novel.
The book demonstrates the military etiquette followed by armies of the time. Sharpe's wounded are cared for by the French surgeons, as the British would do to the French, but the guerrillas can only expect a gruesome death as they mete out to their French opponents.
References in other works
The character of Teresa Moreno, who is introduced in this novel, goes on to play an important role in the following books of the series. She and Sharpe become lovers in this novel, though Sharpe's return to Josefina at the end of the novel prompt the reader to speculate on the degree of attraction between him and Teresa.
The characters of Josefina and Claud Hardy were introduced in Cornwell's previous novel Sharpe's Eagle.
The Lines of Torres Vedras are better described in Sharpe's Escape.
Adaptation
A 1993 TV adaptation of the same name was produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network in the UK starring Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley although this bore little resemblance to the novel.[4]
Publication history
- 1981, UK, Harper Collins ISBN 0-00-222129-2, 1 Dec 1981, Hardback
- 1982, USA, Viking Press ISBN 0-670-63943-5, 1 Jan 1982, Hardback
- 1995, UK, Harper Collins ISBN 0-00-617314-4, 1 Dec 1995, Paperback
- 2004, USA, Signet ISBN 0-451-21341-6, 3 August 2004, Paperback
This is Bernard Cornwell's second novel and according to the author the hardest to write.[5] It was written as a warm-up for his "series of tales about the adventures of a British rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars".[1] It was published in the same year, and just ten months after, the first novel.
References
- Corwell, Bernard (1994). Sharpe's Eagle. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. vi–vii. ISBN 978-0-00-780509-9.
- Corwell, Bernard (1993). Sharpe's Gold. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-00-780508-2.
- Corwell, Bernard (1993). Sharpe's Gold. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 301–3. ISBN 978-0-00-780508-2.
- Murray, Andy (2006). Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale (paperback). London: Headpress. p. 175. ISBN 1-900486-50-4.
- "Sharpe's Gold". bernardcornwell.net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
It's always said that the second book is the most difficult to write, and I can remember finding it very hard, which is a reason why I've never re-read Sharpe's Gold either. I do remember a splendid scene with Sergeant Patrick Harper and a dungheap and that Sharpe meets the first of his wives while trying to rescue a great pile of Spanish gold. Watching the video is no help in reminding me what's in the plot because the story on the TV programme bears absolutely no resemblance to the story in the book - weird.