''Sharpe's Honour'' is the sixteenth
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
in the
Richard Sharpe series by
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...
, first published in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
. In the
Vitoria Campaign of the
Peninsula War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
in 1813, Sharpe is framed for murder. He must find a way to clear his name to preserve the fragile alliance between Britain and Spain during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.
Plot summary
Major
Pierre Ducos plots to broker a peace between France and Spain, offering to restore King
Ferdinand VII
Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
to the Spanish throne in exchange for the Spanish signing a peace treaty and breaking their alliance with Britain. He offers the Spanish priest and
Inquisitor
An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...
Father Hacha and his brother, the brutal
Partisan
Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII
** Ital ...
leader "El Matarife" ("The Slaughterman"), a huge sum of money for their assistance.
He then has his agent, the extraordinarily beautiful Marquesa de Casares el Grande y Melida Sabada (born Helene Leroux), to write a letter to her husband claiming Sharpe tried to rape her. Guided by Father Hacha, the Marques, a Spanish nobleman of very high rank, challenges Sharpe to a duel. Sharpe accepts, mistakenly thinking it is due to his having slept with Helene (as have many others). Just after Sharpe disarms his opponent, Sharpe's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel
Leroy, shows up and ends the sword fight, thereby saving Sharpe's career, as Wellington has forbidden dueling. That night, the Marques is murdered by El Matarife. Sharpe is charged with the crime, found guilty by court-martial and sentenced to death. Wellington cannot intervene, fearing for the fragile British-Spanish alliance. However, his friend, Major
Michael Hogan, arranges for another condemned man to impersonate Sharpe and be hanged in his place (in exchange for a younger brother's life), sending Sharpe to search for Helene to find out what is going on.
Meanwhile, Ducos betrays Helene. Instead of releasing her six wagons of valuables, he has Father Hacha and El Matarife kidnap her and take her to a nunnery; a stipulation of her late husband's will states that, if she becomes a nun, her entire enormous inheritance will go to the Church via Hacha. Sharpe tracks her down and frees her. However, he is captured by General Verigny, a French cavalry officer and Helene's latest lover, who has also come to her rescue. Sharpe refuses to give his
parole
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
to not try to escape. Ducos brutally interrogates him. Sharpe escapes, but is quickly recaptured by Verigny. Helene reveals Ducos' plot, then proposes Sharpe give his parole, whereupon she and Verigny will allow him to escape. Sharpe delays giving his answer, then escapes when a carelessly discarded cigar blows up a pile of ammunition, causing extensive damage and many deaths in
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
.
At the
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...
, Sharpe's old battalion, the South Essex, is left leaderless when Leroy is killed leading an assault. Sharpe finds and rallies his men, playing a pivotal part in Wellington's subsequent victory. When the French panic and flee,
Harper and many others, soldiers and civilians alike, loot the abandoned gold and valuables, while Sharpe searches for Helene. They spot El Matarife, who has captured Helene in the chaos of the French retreat. Sharpe goads El Matarife into a duel. After defeating him, Sharpe forces him to confess to the Marques' murder before killing him. Sharpe and Harper then beat Hacha until he agrees to clear Sharpe's name. Helene charms Wellington into allowing her to leave for France with her wagons.
Television adaptation
The novel was adapted as the last episode of the second season of the
Sharpe television series, guest starring
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige (; born June 28, 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her big break came in 1981, when she starred as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the British historical film ''Chariots of Fire'', and as Eva Gall ...
as La Marquesa,
Nickolas Grace
Nickolas Andrew Halliwell Grace (born 21 November 1947) is an English actor notable for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1979-1981), and the Sheriff of Nottingham in ''Robin of Sherwood'' (1984–19 ...
as Father Hacha and
Matthew Scurfield
Matthew Scurfield (born 2 February 1948, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) is an English actor and the eldest child of author George Scurfield and his wife Cecilia (née Hopkinson).
His autobiography, ''I Could Be Anyone'', was published in 2008 ( ...
as ''El Matarife''. It retained the same basic plot as the novel but had a number of differences: It is written as Sharpe's first meeting with La Marquesa (since her earlier appearance, ''
Sharpe's Sword
''Sharpe's Sword'' is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. It is the fourth in the series, being first published in 1983, though the fifteenth chronologically. Set in the summer of 1812 including the Battle of ...
'', was not adapted until later),
Harper accompanies Sharpe on his mission to find her (effectively taking the place of a partisan boy named Angel from the book),
Hogan
A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...
and
Leroy are omitted and replaced with
Nairn
Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...
, Hacha is killed by
Ducos for his failure whereas in the book he survives, and ''El Matarife'' is shot by Major Mendora as he prepares to stab Sharpe in the back rather than having his throat slit by Sharpe. It also added an extra scene at the beginning where Ducos outlines his plans to
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
(played by
Ron Cook
Ronald G. Cook (born 1 December 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s.
Early life
Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, the son of a school cook and a car worker. Whe ...
).
Publication history
''Sharpe's Honour'' was the sixth book in the Sharpe series written by Cornwell by order of year of publication. After the addition of many more novels to the successful series it resides about two thirds of the way through the series and Sharpe's military career.
References
External links
Section from Bernard Cornwell's website on ''Sharpe's Honour''Independent Review of ''Sharpe's Honor''
{{Bernard Cornwell
1985 British novels
Honour
Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...
Fiction set in 1813
William Collins, Sons books
Peninsular War in fiction