Sharpe's Eagle

Sharpe and his riflemen are attached to the South Essex, a green regiment led by Sir Henry Simmerson, a cruel coward of a colonel. On a mission to blow a bridge, Simmerson shows off, the French attack and the regiment loses one of its colors. Major Lennox dies asking Sharpe to wipe out the shame by taking an eagle, a French regiment's standard. Wellesley promotes Sharpe to captain, which only feeds the hatred of Simmerson and two lieutenants in his circle, Gibbons and Berry. At Talavera, Simmerson panics and opens a gap in the British line. Sharpe, Harper and the light company charge and capture the eagle.

1. CameoDaniel Craig in a redcoat

   Lieutenant Berry, one of the officers who make Sharpe's life hell, is Daniel Craig, more than a decade before he became James Bond.

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2. Behind the scenesNo eagle fell at Talavera

   In real life, the British took no French eagle at Talavera. The first one was captured at Barrosa in 1811.

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3. ReferenceCornwell's first book

   Sharpe's Eagle was Bernard Cornwell's first published novel, in 1981. On TV, the book's Captain Lennox became a major.

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