Sharpe’s Fortress: The Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803

Sharpe’s Fortress: The Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803
Bernard Cornwell

It was the most impregnable fortress in all India – Gawlighur – and the opposing forces were safely holding it.But Sharpe, newly appointed an officer by Wellesley, has his own enemies to fight on every hand. The officers in his new regiment resent his arrival, Obadiah Hakeswill is determined to have his revenge, and renegades within the British army want to retain control of their own area…

SHARPE’S

FORTRESS

Richard Sharpe and the Siege

of Gawilghur, December 1803

BERNARD CORNWELL

Copyright

This novel is a work of fiction. The incidents and some of the characters portrayed in it, while based on real historical events and figures, are the work of the author’s imagination.

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1999

Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 1999

Map © Ken Lewis

Cover design by Holly Macdonald © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018. Cover photographs © Alamy Stock Photo

Bernard Cornwell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780006510314

Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007346806

Version: 2018-04-13

Sharpe’s Fortress is for Christine Clarke, with many thanks

‘We cheer Sharpe on. He has a kind of angry courage, an inability to stay away from a fight, and a permanent inner battle between his inclinations and his sense of duty. Wellington wound up a dangerous spring on the day he raised Sharpe from the ranks. It’s our magnificent gain’

Terry Pratchett

Contents

Title Page (#ud130cd65-58fe-545a-92b9-b93bcc04e8ff)

Copyright (#uf9a681d4-f896-51c3-a3e1-82673d8e9add)

Dedication (#u8a18a297-521d-5500-b8e8-1775e30e62a6)

Praise (#u9e43a561-24aa-5d8f-bc84-312b592c5177)

Maps (#ucb1d7e44-b3c6-5f61-b2e8-37ea3b0c34d9)

Chapter One (#ubf656803-9f29-5b5c-b0ce-96d94622729a)

Chapter Two (#u3be9cfba-37ba-518e-9b4d-f7095a344ab8)

Chapter Three (#ue153e98a-f6c8-51c9-8c9a-f49e73808058)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading

Historical Note (#litres_trial_promo)

Sharpe’s Story (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

The SHARPE Series (in chronological order) (#litres_trial_promo)

The SHARPE Series (in order of publication) (#litres_trial_promo)