Sharpe’s Fury recap

A failed river operation leaves Sharpe and Harper separated from their usual command and eventually sent to Cádiz, the Spanish city protected by sea but besieged from the mainland. Major Hogan asks Sharpe to recover intimate letters stolen from Henry Wellesley, Britain's minister and Wellington's brother. Father Salvador Montseny uses the correspondence to threaten Wellesley and weaken British influence, while Lord Pumphrey's secret dealings make the loyalties inside the British effort uncertain. The political search merges with an allied expedition against Marshal Victor. Spanish commander Manuel la Peña mishandles the movement, forcing Thomas Graham's British division to turn and fight at Barrosa with little support. Graham's troops defeat the French attack, and Sharpe helps overcome Colonel Vandal, but the allies fail to exploit the victory and Cádiz remains besieged. Sharpe recovers the letters and ends the blackmail, preserving Wellesley's position while exposing dangerous misconduct among the intelligence men who were supposed to protect him.

Previously: Richard Sharpe, a former private, commands the South Essex light company with Sergeant Patrick Harper as his closest friend. After recovering the Spanish gold that financed the Lines of Torres Vedras, Sharpe and Teresa Moreno became lovers. During Masséna's invasion of Portugal, Wellington ordered the population to abandon or destroy supplies before retreating to those Lines. Sharpe exposed Major Ferreira and his brother Ferragus, who meant to sell hoarded food to the French. Captured in occupied Coimbra with Harper, he escaped with Sarah Fry's help, destroyed the stores, and returned to the army. Ferragus was killed, Ferreira's treachery was uncovered, and Captain Slingsby's failed attempt to take the light company ended. The French reached the Lines but found an impregnable defense and a countryside unable to feed them.

Sharpe and Harper take part in a hazardous operation at a river crossing while French forces contest the opposite bank. The attempt deteriorates amid high water, damaged boats, and fighting directed by Brigadier Moon. Sharpe is cut off from the regular movement of the army and clashes with Colonel Henri Vandal, a determined French officer. The episode leaves Sharpe and Harper alive but displaced from their South Essex command, available for the confidential assignment that follows rather than the routine duty they expected.

Major Hogan sends Sharpe to Cádiz, the seat of Spain's anti-French government and a city protected by the British navy while Marshal Victor's army besieges it from across the marshes. Britain's minister Henry Wellesley is being blackmailed with private letters written during his affair with Caterina Blazquez. Their publication could end his career and weaken British influence over Spain. Sharpe encounters Lord Pumphrey, the smooth intelligence operator he distrusts from Copenhagen, and identifies Father Salvador Montseny as a central force behind the pressure. Recovering the correspondence requires Sharpe to navigate priests, politicians, and agents rather than a clearly marked enemy line.

Sharpe's search shows that the stolen letters are part of a wider effort to damage the British alliance, not merely a demand for money. Montseny can exploit factions inside Cádiz that resent British power, while Wellesley's own choices make a discreet defense difficult. Pumphrey's access to secret funds and information raises further doubts about whether every British agent is trying to solve the same problem. At the same time an allied expedition is organized against Victor's siege lines. General Manuel la Peña holds overall command, with Thomas Graham leading the British division. Sharpe and Harper join the movement, knowing that the political plot in Cádiz and the coming battle are connected by the future of the alliance.

The allied expedition maneuvers along the coast toward Barrosa. La Peña's hesitant orders and concern for his own authority leave the columns badly coordinated. Victor sees a chance to strike Graham's British troops while they are separated from effective Spanish support. Graham turns his division back instead of accepting defeat, and the battle begins across the ridge and woods. Sharpe and Harper fight among troops forced to form under sudden pressure, while Colonel Vandal reappears with the French. The immediate contest is whether Graham can defeat a stronger attack before la Peña's inaction makes retreat toward Cádiz the only remaining choice.

Graham's division defeats Victor's attack at Barrosa despite receiving little useful support from la Peña. British infantry retake the ridge, capture guns and an Eagle, and drive the French back; Sharpe and Harper survive the close fighting and Colonel Vandal is overcome. La Peña fails to exploit the victory, allowing Victor's army to preserve the siege of Cádiz. Back in the city, Sharpe recovers the stolen letters and ends Father Montseny's power to blackmail Henry Wellesley. His dealings with Lord Pumphrey deepen his distrust of the methods used by British secret agents, and Hogan works to suppress further political damage. Wellesley remains minister, the alliance holds, and Sharpe is released from the confidential assignment to return to soldiering.

At Barrosa, General Graham's British division turns back to confront Marshal Victor's larger French force after General la Peña refuses effective support. Sharpe and Harper fight through the confused battle and help break the French attacks; Colonel Vandal is defeated in the combat. The British take an Eagle and guns, but la Peña's caution prevents the tactical victory from becoming the destruction of Victor's army, so the siege of Cádiz continues. In the city, Sharpe recovers the letters used to blackmail Henry Wellesley and destroys Father Montseny's leverage over the ambassador. Dealings with Lord Pumphrey deepen Sharpe's distrust of the methods used by Britain's own secret agents, while Hogan contains the political damage. Henry Wellesley remains at his post and the alliance survives the scandal. Sharpe and Harper finish the campaign alive and free to return to the army, while Cádiz remains unconquered but still ringed by French forces.