311:. A stray French shell ignites the gunpowder trail he has laid to the magazine. The massive ensuing explosion kills hundreds of the garrison, including Kearsey. With his ammunition gone and part of his fortifications in ruins, Cox is forced to surrender. Sharpe and Lossow depart with their men and the gold before the French forces enter.
276:, which is about to be besieged by the French, rather than go directly to Wellington. During this trek, Sharpe and Teresa fall in love. When questioned, she admits that El Católico murdered Hardy (after the latter found El Católico moving the gold) and that her fiancé intends to use it for his own ends, rather than turn it over to the
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the town and rescue him, as the partisans trust the major. They free not only
Kearsey, but also Teresa Moreno and her brother Ramon, the offspring of Cesare Moreno. The elder Moreno led a small group of partisans, but it joined El Católico's larger band. Sharpe is strongly attracted to Teresa, who is betrothed to El Católico.
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some of his men to escort Sharpe and his men partway back toward
British lines, but when they leave, Sharpe doubles back late that night to search a fresh new grave. El Católico is not fooled, and he and his men are waiting for Sharpe. El Católico makes Sharpe keep digging; he finds nothing but a corpse.
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Sharpe sets off with his small company, under the command of Major
Kearsey, another exploring officer. Kearsey makes it clear that he believes that the gold belongs to the Spanish and the purpose of the mission is to return it to them. When Kearsey is captured by the French, Sharpe decides to go into
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cavalry under
Captain Lossow, who was sent by Hogan to search for them. In Almeida, he clashes with the commander of the fortress, the English Brigadier Cox. Sharpe had an order personally written by Wellington, requiring that all officers give Sharpe whatever assistance he requires, but Kearsey had
671:
It's always said that the second book is the most difficult to write, and I can remember finding it very hard, which is a reason why I've never re-read Sharpe's Gold either. I do remember a splendid scene with
Sergeant Patrick Harper and a dungheap and that Sharpe meets the first of his wives while
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When Sharpe meets El Católico, the latter admits knowledge of the gold and strongly implies the
British intend to take possession of it rather than merely escort it to the Spanish government in Cadiz. He claims that he witnessed the French take the gold and capture Captain Hardy. El Católico sends
417:, who is introduced in this novel, goes on to play an important role in the following books of the series. She and Sharpe become lovers in this novel, though Sharpe's return to Josefina at the end of the novel prompt the reader to speculate on the degree of attraction between him and Teresa.
397:
Although El
Catolico and his treasure trove are literary inventions, the guerrillas and gold alluded to in this novel were an important part of the war against France ("the twin allies of British victory"); Cornwell admits that the "Sharpe books do not do justice to the guerillas".
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a crucial secret mission: to retrieve a hoard of
Spanish gold he desperately needs to continue fighting the French. The gold is behind enemy lines, in the keeping of Spanish guerrillas led by El Católico, who delights in torturing French prisoners to death. Claud Hardy, one of
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That night, there is a final showdown between Sharpe and El Católico on the roof of a building adjacent to where the gold is stored. Sharpe, knowing that El Católico is a far superior swordsman, in desperation lets El Católico stab him through the leg with his
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torn it up, so Cox is suspicious of his motives. El Católico, his men and a
Spanish officer arrive the same night and lodge a claim for the gold on behalf of the Spanish government. Unable to contact Wellington, as the
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trying to rescue a great pile of
Spanish gold. Watching the video is no help in reminding me what's in the plot because the story on the TV programme bears absolutely no resemblance to the story in the book – weird.
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269:, however, sees one of the partisans stick his sword into a large pile of manure nearby. He finds the gold hidden underneath. Sharpe takes Teresa hostage to extricate himself, his men and the gold.
517:
This is Bernard Cornwell's second novel and according to the author the hardest to write. It was written as a warm-up for his "series of tales about the adventures of a British rifleman in the
339:. When she complains after Sharpe chases away her latest client, a wealthy lieutenant, Sharpe laughs and drops gold coins, showing that he has enough of "Sharpe's gold" for her.
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Sharpe is granted a month's leave by Wellington, so he takes the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with Josefina LaCosta, who has set herself up in Lisbon as an exclusive
247:'s exploring officers, was assigned to keep an eye on the guerrillas and the gold after a failed attempt by British cavalry to fetch it. (The wealthy Hardy is the lover of
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When Sharpe delivers the gold (less what he gives Teresa and keeps for himself and his men), he learns that it is to pay for the construction of the enormous defensive
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The books tells a fictionalised account of the destruction of Almeida which, as Cornwell notes "conveniently for a writer of fiction", remains a mystery. The
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This, however, has no bearing on Cox's insistence on giving the gold to the partisans, so in desperation, Sharpe decides to blow up the fortress's
304:, but prevents him from extracting the weapon. With El Católico effectively disarmed, Sharpe first knocks him unconscious, then cuts his throat.
394:, who appears again in this book. Here the Duke is suffering from money worries as Cornwell states he "knew that money kept an army efficient".
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is destroyed by French artillery before a message can be sent, Cox orders Sharpe to surrender the gold to El Católico and join the garrison.
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mentioned at the end of the novel are also a historical reality. Both sites were visited by the author during his research for the novel.
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Sharpe and his men are harried by both the partisans and the French. As a result, he no has choice but to try to reach the fortress of
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Teresa returns to the partisans; with El Católico dead, she is likely to take over command.
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The characters of Josefina and Claud Hardy were introduced in Cornwell's previous novel
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332:. Hogan reassures Sharpe that the gold was more necessary to Wellington than Almeida.
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Sharpe's story continues to be "intimately linked" with the real-life story of Sir
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521:". It was published in the same year, and just ten months after, the first novel.
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is the second (though ninth in chronological order) historical novel in the
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first published in 1981. The story is set in August 1810 and features the
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Colonel Joaquín 'El Católico' Jovellanos – local partisan commander
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Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
281:
361:
Major Michael Hogan – Wellington's intelligence-gathering officer
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358:— sergeant in the British army, close friend and ally to Sharpe
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References to actual history, geography and current science
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Major Kearsey – one of Major Hogan's exploring officers
545:. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. vi–vii.
627:
Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale
604:. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 301–3.
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although this bore little resemblance to the novel.
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576:. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 7–9.
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16:1981 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell
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657:. bernardcornwell.net. Archived from
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115:Print (hardback and paperback) and
19:For the television adaptation, see
14:
376:Ramon Moreno – Teresa's brother
1318:Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC
449:Central Independent Television
278:provisional Spanish government
251:, Sharpe's love interest from
1:
502:, 1 December 1995, Paperback
443:A 1995 TV adaptation of the
21:Sharpe's Gold (TV programme)
1579:William Collins, Sons books
480:, 1 December 1981, Hardback
455:network in the UK starring
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513:, 3 August 2004, Paperback
491:, 1 January 1982, Hardback
128:256 pp (paperback edition)
126:252 pp (hardcover edition)
18:
719:
541:Corwell, Bernard (1994).
409:References in other works
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494:1995, UK, HarperCollins
483:1982, USA, Viking Press
472:1981, UK, HarperCollins
954:The Starbuck Chronicles
381:References or allusions
1117:The Lords of the North
1001:The Warlord Chronicles
403:Lines of Torres Vedras
319:lines of Torres Vedras
221:destruction of Almeida
68:Richard Sharpe stories
1165:Warriors of the Storm
629:(paperback). London:
625:Murray, Andy (2006).
213:Richard Sharpe series
1569:Richard Sharpe books
1529:Seven Kings Must Die
289:King's German Legion
1574:Fiction set in 1810
1564:1981 British novels
1208:With Susannah Kells
467:Publication history
245:Major Michael Hogan
150:(paperback edition)
141:(hardcover edition)
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1497:Sharpe's Challenge
893:Sharpe's Trafalgar
837:Sharpe's Christmas
661:on 27 January 2008
505:2004, USA, Signet
236:General Wellington
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1490:Sharpe's Waterloo
1455:Sharpe's Regiment
1350:Fools and Mortals
1109:The Pale Horseman
1091:The Saxon Stories
1055:The Archer's Tale
988:The Bloody Ground
933:Sharpe's Assassin
885:Sharpe's Skirmish
877:Sharpe's Fortress
821:Sharpe's Waterloo
789:Sharpe's Regiment
611:978-0-00-780508-2
583:978-0-00-780508-2
552:978-0-00-780509-9
413:The character of
373:— Partisan leader
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104:Publication place
78:Historical novels
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1522:The Last Kingdom
1483:Sharpe's Justice
1476:Sharpe's Revenge
1469:Sharpe's Mission
1413:Sharpe's Company
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1216:A Crowning Mercy
1173:The Flame Bearer
1157:The Empty Throne
1133:The Burning Land
1101:The Last Kingdom
941:Sharpe's Command
869:Sharpe's Triumph
813:Sharpe's Revenge
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249:Josefina LaCosta
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187:Sharpe's Company
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633:. p. 175.
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1361:Non-fiction
980:Battle Flag
223:during the
1558:Categories
1283:Stormchild
1125:Sword Song
972:Copperhead
525:References
439:Adaptation
343:Characters
1334:Azincourt
1291:Scoundrel
1275:Crackdown
1255:Wildtrack
1247:Thrillers
1050:Harlequin
1027:Excalibur
711:Works by
631:Headpress
457:Sean Bean
445:same name
354:Sergeant
337:courtesan
294:telegraph
84:Publisher
1342:The Fort
1270:) (1989)
1263:Sea Lord
1239:) (1986)
1197:War Lord
1062:Vagabond
1057:) (2000)
600:(1993).
572:(1993).
451:for the
309:magazine
163:30778321
117:audio-CD
56:Language
1310:Redcoat
1070:Heretic
326:Masséna
323:Marshal
274:Almeida
88:Collins
59:English
1389:Sharpe
1372:(2014)
1353:(2017)
1345:(2010)
1337:(2008)
1329:(2001)
1321:(1999)
1313:(1987)
1294:(1992)
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1278:(1990)
1258:(1988)
1227:(1984)
1219:(1983)
1200:(2020)
1192:(2019)
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1144:(2011)
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1514:Other
1266:(aka
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964:Rebel
282:Cadiz
123:Pages
74:Genre
1078:1356
667:2008
635:ISBN
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459:and
157:OCLC
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453:ITV
280:in
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215:by
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