Sharpe's Escape (51 page)

Masséna stayed in Portugal much longer than Wellington had hoped. The attempt to strip central Portugal of food never really worked, and the French discovered enough supplies to keep them well fed through October. They repaired the windmills and rebuilt the ovens, but by November they were on half rations, and then they were besieged by a winter that was unusually cold and wet. They left Torres Vedras in mid-November and retreated to where they hoped more food would be available, and somehow they lasted in Portugal until March when, hungry, dispirited and unsuccessful, they went back to their depots in Spain. It had been a bitter defeat for Masséna.

John Grehan's book,
The Lines of Torres Vedras
, published by Spellmount in 2000, was invaluable in writing
Sharpe's Escape
. It contains by far the best description of the lines themselves, but much more besides, including a gripping account of the battle of Bussaco, and I am indebted to it, though any mistakes are, of course, mine. Sharpe and Harper will march again.

Bernard Cornwell
is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series (available from PerfectBound), the Grail Quest series (featuring
The Archer's Tale
and
Vagabond
), and many other novels. Mr. Cornwell lives with his wife on Cape Cod. Please visit www.bernardcornwell.net.

Map by Ken Lewis

Jacket illustration by Danilo Ducak

SHARPE'S ESCAPE. Copyright © 2004 by Bernard Cornwell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.

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Palm Reader March 2004 eISBN 0-06-058878-0

Originally published in 2003 in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers.

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION

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