Sharpe’s Siege: The Winter Campaign, 1814

Sharpe’s Siege: The Winter Campaign, 1814
Bernard Cornwell

Richard Sharpe, abandoned in enemy territory, has to trust in assistance from a hostile American privateer.The invasion of France is under way, and the British Navy has called upon the services of Major Richard Sharpe. He and a small force of Riflemen are to capture a fortress and secure a landing on the French coast. It is to be one of the most dangerous missions of his career.Through the reckless incompetence of a naval commander, Sharpe finds himself abandoned in the heart of enemy territory, facing overwhelming forces and the very real prospect of defeat. He has no alternative but to trust his fortunes to an American privateer – a man who has no love for the British invaders.Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.

SHARPE’S SIEGE

Richard Sharpe and the

Winter Campaign, 1814

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.

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

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

Previously published in paperback by Fontana 1988

Reprinted five times

First published in Great Britain by Collins 1987

Copyright © Rifleman Productions Ltd 1987

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, down-loaded, 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: 9780007298600

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2011 ISBN: 9780007346813

Version: 2017-04-26

Sharpe’s Siege is dedicated to

Brenym McNight, Terry Farrand, Bryan Thorniley,

Diana Colbert, Ray Steele, and Stuart Wilkie;

with thanks

Contents

Title Page (#u920623ad-bfbc-5d29-b335-1920a4880e62)

Copyright (#u3b642d48-e501-57d9-acce-cce3477d4cc3)

Dedication (#uf37bfad4-7c46-5db5-8ea6-02f2bec22fc3)

Epigraph (#u0ec9d051-0fc3-5e77-a03e-59ccd3525e21)

Map of The French Biscay Coast (#u9790c2b6-8f10-5283-8c2e-ac062cd1c692)

Map of Bassin (#u28adcf45-8f13-51b9-b77a-c245360996bc)

Chapter One (#u3bc12159-dbd0-56d1-98c9-ce1e5355bebe)

Chapter Two (#u75fe86f6-1024-50d3-a691-10202b57234a)

Chapter Three (#u1731c2ae-f234-5688-b744-972d9db2e034)

Chapter Four (#ud131b3b7-9517-5662-acf1-51ba9f599def)

Chapter Five (#u7d7afc20-a9fe-5b82-9fe8-edd5d7981300)

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)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)