Sharpe’s Waterloo

Name: Sharpe’s Waterloo
Rating: 4.34 (10643 reviews)

by Bernard Cornwell Book 24 in the Sharpe series.

First published 1990

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4.3(10,643)

In June 1815, Sharpe is serving on the staff of the Prince of Orange when Napoleon’s return brings the allied armies into battle at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Frustrated by the prince’s orders and alarmed by the danger facing his former regiment, Sharpe leaves his post to rejoin the soldiers he once commanded. He helps them withstand the final French attacks as Wellington’s army waits for the Prussians.

The campaign compresses years of military experience into a few days in which command errors can be fatal. Sharpe's contempt for the Prince of Orange is not merely personal; poor orders threaten battalions he knows how to save. Returning to the South Essex allows him to act on instinct and loyalty while Wellington tries to hold the allied line until Prussian arrival turns survival into victory.