Reacquainting myself with Sharpe and Harper

[Arteis]

In my latest blog posting, I muse on the Sharpe novels, and also look at a few Sharpe and Harper figures in my collection:

Visit my ‘Dressing The Lines’ blog: http://arteis.wordpress.com/

[Cerdic]

I have to agree about the Sharpe books. I had never heard of them until I chanced on two or three in a bookshop many years ago. I think they were the only ones published at that time!

I thoroughly enjoyed them, although I found the later ones a bit too formulaic. He should have stopped with the Waterloo book, I think.

 

I never got into the TV series. They changed the stories too much, they didn’t have the budget for battle scenes, and I thought Sean Bean woefully mis-cast! Good job I am not a TV producer because plenty of people seemed to like ’em!

 

http://28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

[Sparker]

Thanks for a great post Roly – as I commented I agree totally that these are damn fine reads for what they are, and served well to popularise the period. I also recommend Bernard Cornwell’s recent Waterloo history. I’ve read a lot of these and this one is a good general work very engagingly written, as you might expect. Also comes with a healthy dose of common sense around some of the myths and issues surrounding this battle!

http://sparkerswargames.blogspot.com.au/
'Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they shall need to be well 'ard'
Matthew 5:9

[Skip]

I am ever so slowly getting through the books by used books or ebooks.  Saw the series long ago forgotten most of the plots even if they are not close. I long ago did make up a battalion of the 95th in 15mm though no real use to have done so. ( they get into games with my other British and their allies)

You have done a fantastic job with the figures.

[Patrice]

Superb.

I only discovered the Sharpe TV series 6 years ago on internet! as it was never shown on French TV for obvious reasons. I love it, I can see the defaults but there’s quite a good depiction of uniforms, the English accents (Sean Bean’s and others) are superb (at least for me) …and thanks all gods it’s not Christian Clavier playing Napoleon. 😉

I haven’t read the books and probably won’t, I know that after having watched the TV series a few times I would not find immersion in them.

I have some of the character figures (28mm from Brigade Games) but still not played with them, my Peninsular projects had been delayed.

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[OotKust]

Patrice wrote:

I love it, I can see the defaults but

I think you simply meant ‘faults’, or errors.
Perhaps, but technocrats are too hard on modern depictions.

The books by Cornwall were fabulous, I bought them as they appeared here and thought the scenarios he wove wonderful. I’ve had those paperbacks so long now, I am ready to quit them from my library…

As to the TV mini-series- I also saw that first with friends in London in 1984 – reenactors no less, so they knew of what they spoke!

Yes the abridged combat and battle scenes can be misconstrued- they were adequate for what was represented- the presence of an army, or enemy, mostly inferred rather than deployed all over a table-top.

Without the glitz of Hollyweird, special effects and too many stars, I found the whole very thorough and encouraging as a promotional aid to explain ‘our hobby’ with model soldiers.

Patrice I would recommend reading the books- as always they cover far more than screenplays ever do; conveying instances and emotions that camera effects don’t always get right.

cheers d.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Bernard Cornwall tells a fun tale, but I prefer Patrick O’Brien.

 

That said one of my next tabletop scenarios will have Sharpe and the boys accompanying  Aubrey and Maturin to Haiti to counter a voodoo cabal  supporting the return of a French naval bourne spy insertion (with a vampire French aristo couple leading the effort) to retake the former colony).  Marines, sailors, zombi, Maroons and Riflemen!  Watch out for ‘gators…

Mick Hayman
Margate and New Orleans

[Patrice]

OotKust wrote:

Patrice wrote: I love it, I can see the defaults but

I think you simply meant ‘faults’, or errors.

Yees I was thinking in French (“défauts”) I should have written “flaws”. 🙂

Aethelflaeda was framed wrote:

one of my next tabletop scenarios will have Sharpe and the boys accompanying Aubrey and Maturin to Haiti to counter a voodoo cabal supporting the return of a French naval bourne spy insertion (with a vampire French aristo couple leading the effort) to retake the former colony). Marines, sailors, zombi, Maroons and Riflemen!

Fascinating! I’ll wait for an AAR.

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Author]

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