Sharpe's Trafalgar


Sharpe's Trafalgar is the fourth historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2000. It is the first of the novels in the wars against Napoleon, putting the army ensign at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The novel is the first time that Sharpe encounters the Nock Gun, originally developed for the Navy and the later weapon of choice of Patrick Harper.

Plot summary

The year is 1805, and Richard Sharpe is heading from India to England aboard the cargo ship Calliope. Also on board is the lovely Lady Grace Hale, whose presence promises to provide intrigue and distraction to an otherwise uneventful voyage home.
Uneventful the voyage is not, for the Calliope is captured by a formidable French warship, the Revenant. The French warship is headed to its own fleet, carrying a stolen treaty that, if delivered, could provoke Indians into a new war against the British.
The arrival of Admiral Horatio Nelson's well-led fleet leads to a confrontation with the Spanish fleet.

Characters in "Sharpe's Trafalgar"