Napoleonic Wars - Fiction
"Sharpe's Prey" 
By Bernard Cornwell
The year is 1807, and Ensign Sharpe has fallen afoul of the commander of the 95th Rifles and has been relegated to be wasted as quartermaster. He has deserted his unit and just returned from paying a visit to the workhouse where he was raised, when he is found by an old General who knows and trusts Sharpe. The General assigns Sharpe to be escort for Captain Lassiver on a mission to the Crown Prince of Denmark in Copenhagen. The Crown Prince is to bribed with a large sum of gold to try and avert war and keep the large Danish fleet from falling into French hands. After landing in Denmark, things go very wrong and a determined Sharpe has a difficult time just surviving. But as we all know, when the going gets tough, Sharpe is at his best!
When the British land ground forces for the land-ward assault on Copenhagen, Sharpe rejoins the 95th and participates in the Battle of Koge, where a small British force led by Wellington, defeats a large Danish force comprised mainly of militia. The deployment of rifles and their devastating effect on the Danes and the description of the overall battle are outstanding.
And yet another fine book in the Richard Sharpe
series not to be missed.
Reviewed by Kenneth S. Smith 2/19/2002
Available from:
Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
