Sharpe's Skirmish
 Original 1999 edition | |
| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Richard Sharpe stories |
| Genre | Historical short story |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date |
1999 (Original Limited Edition Paperback) 2002 (Revised Extended Paperback edition) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 63 pp (Revised Extended Paperback edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-9722220-0-6 (Revised Extended Paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 51160220 |
| Preceded by | Sharpe's Sword |
| Followed by | Sharpe's Enemy |
"Sharpe's Skirmish" is a historical short story by Bernard Cornwell in the Richard Sharpe series.
"Sharpe's Skirmish" was first written in 1998. British bookseller W. H. Smith[1] devised the idea of giving away a Sharpe short story with every copy of Sharpe's Fortress, possibly why "Sharpe’s Skirmish" often refers to events that happened in the latter book. Only a few thousand copies were originally published, however an edition has been republished by the Sharpe Appreciation Society.
Plot
This short story occurs after Sharpe's Sword and before Sharpe’s Enemy in the summer of 1812 and Sharpe must guard a Commissary Officer posted to an obscure Spanish fort where there are some captured French muskets. Unbeknown to the British, the French are planning a lightning raid on the fort across the river Tormes, and they reckon the Spanish fort which guards an ancient bridge across the river will be lightly guarded.
Characters in "Sharpe's Skirmish"
- Captain Richard Sharpe – Rifle Captain in the British army, Officer Commanding the Light Company of the South Essex Battalion
- Teresa Moreno – Sharpe's wife, a Spanish partisan
- Sergeant Patrick Harper – one of Sharpe's new group of Rifles, one of the Chosen Men
- Major Michael Hogan – an Engineer, and Wellesley's head of intelligence.
- Lieutenant General Wellington – commander of the British army in Spain.
Allusions to actual history, geography and current science
References are made to incidents during the Peninsular War and the Siege of Gawilghur. Lieutenant General Wellington was based on the real historical figure of the same name with limited dramatic licence taken.
Publication history
- 1999, UK, Harper Collins Pub date 1 March 1999, Limited Edition Paperback
- 2002, UK, Sharpe Appreciation Society ISBN 978-0-9722220-0-6, Pub date 2 September 2002, Revised Extended Paperback Edition