Book Review for

Sharpe's Escape (The Bussaco Campaign 1810)
by Bernard Cornwell
 

The 10th in the Richard Sharpe series.
It is September 1810 and the French are threatening to overrun Portugal.
The British have built two lines of defense along the Bussaco ridge, both
lines running the width of the land and fortified with hills, forts, cannon,
and firepower. General Wellington has ordered the land stripped of food, a
"scorched earth" policy, in order to deprive the overextended French army of
food and supplies. Sharpe and his 95th Rifles are ordered to destroy a large
supply of flour but run into opposition from their treacherous Portuguese
allies, Major Ferreira, and his gigantic, malevolent brother, Ferragus, who sets
a deadly ambush for Sharpe. Sharpe must also contend with the drunken,
incompetent Lieutenant Slingsby, Colonel Lawford's brother-in-law, who, to
Sharpe's humiliation, is appointed to lead the South Essex. As the British
deliberately retreat in order to lure the French toward their formidable
lines of defense, Sharpe is accompanied by his ever faithful, brave, and
dangerous Sergeant Harper, his Portuguese friend Captain Vincente, and
a young English governess he rescued from a near-rape by Ferragus.
They become trapped by Ferragus in a large warehouse of food stores
reserved for the French, and must rely on Sharpe's ever-cunning ability
to find a way out. Sharpe eventually engages in a rematch with Ferragus,
and he demonstrates what can happen when justice and rage combine
 when faced with a superior enemy. Another superbly-written story
by a true master of historical fiction.


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