Sharpe's Eagle
Bernard Cornwell
 The following is a description of the key plot elements of the novel of Sharpe's Eagle. Although much of the novel's complexity is omitted in the TV version, the major plot elements are the same. For a summary of the TV movie, see the link listed above. Prior to the Battle of Talavera, Richard Sharpe and his small group of thirty Riflemen 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. More suited for ceremonial parades than genuine combat against the veteran armies of France, Sharpe takes it upon himself to shape the inexperienced and poorly-trained redcoats into full-fledged 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 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 Battle of Assaye, where Sharpe himself won his commission; and Captain Leroy, an American Loyalist who fled with his merchant family to England during the American War of Independence. Making his way to the town of Talavera, General Wellesley dispatches the South Essex, alongside Sharpe's Riflemen and the engineers of Major Hogan, to blow up the bridge at Valdelcasa, 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. A combination of arrogance, poor training, flawed leadership and elementary tactical errors results in the two regiments being routed by the French, with hundreds of men killed and wounded, Lennox brought down by the enemy, and the loss of the King's Colour. As a dying request, Lennox asks Sharpe to take a French 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 still must do much to confirm this rank in the company of an officer corps still largely drawn from the aristocracy and the ranks of English gentlemen who look down on Sharpe's low birth. Even worse, Sir Henry has made Sharpe the scapegoat of his follies, and intends on ruining Sharpe's career via his political connections at Horse Guards. Only by capturing an Eagle can Sharpe stay in the army, let alone keep his promotion. The Rifleman also makes an enemy of Gibbons and Berry when he takes Josefina under his protection, and the two begin a relationship. Later in the novel, when Josefina is raped by Gibbons and Berry, Sharpe swears vengeance, murdering Berry in a nighttime skirmish against the French. At the height of the Battle of Talavera, Sharpe must decide whether to fulfill Lennox's request or avoid this insane task. In true heroic form Richard Sharpe rises to the challenge and avenge the loss of the colour with the capture of a French Imperial Eagle during the height of the battle. Leading the Light Company and his Rifles into the fray, Sharpe and Harper manage to break a French regiment and take an Eagle, while Simmerson is replaced on the field by Sharpe's old friend William Lawford as Commander of the South Essex. Slaying Gibbons in the aftermath (who had attempted to murder Sharpe for his prize), Sharpe parts with Josefina as she returns to Lisbon, while he officially takes his place as Captain of the Light Company of the South Essex, the regiment's honour restored.