Junio de 1815. El duque de Wellington, el príncipe de Orange y Napoleón se encontrarán en el campo de batalla... y decidirán el destino de Europa.

H1.1.5

A fictionalised account of the 1815 Waterloo battle with Richard Sharpe playing pivotal role, whilst the battle itself largely sticks to the facts making for both an enjoyable and educational read. The real facts are also surmised at the closing of the book in a dubbed 'Historical Note' coming after the epilogue.

I usually am not a big fan of historical military fiction yet Cornwell does a excellent job in these Sharpe books making for a compelling reading experience. He paints a rather vivid picture of the reckless disregard for soldiers lives back in the day, and also captures the routine looting of the injured and dead that occurred on the battlefields during these days. ( )

Well, the final battle of the Napoleonic campaigns has finally come to fruition with the return of Napoleon from his exile on Elba. Sharpe had though himself safely retired from the military life with his French companion on their farm but when the call came (and a 'promotion' to Lieutenant Colonel to sweeten the deal), he reluctantly returns to the Colours where he immediately regrets his return when he finds himself babysitting the 20 year old heir to the Dutch throne who thought himself to be such a great commander.

Never has Sharpe's contempt towards those fate had set in command over him been so sharply (sorry!) felt. However richly deserved the contempt might have been, the Prince is about as an Important Person as could be imagined (at least in his own eyes) and with the British veterans busy burning Washington in the War of 1812 over in North America, the Duke of Wellington's men are somewhat inexperienced as they face the legend of the French Grande Armée.

It's possible that there might be battles that have been 'done' more often than Waterloo, but there can't be many but along with Sharpe's 'attitude' and his historical research, Cornwell manages to keep things fresh even after so many years and despite being a reasonably long book, I managed to finish it in an engrossed single sitting ( )

Excellent imaginative account of the Battle of Waterloo. Sharpe plays a role but the range of the battle is apparent. Many of the characters (surviving) from previous Sharpe exploits come back - and not all of them survive this. Always enjoy Sharpe... ( )