Napoleon Meets his Waterloo and Sharpe and Harper: Sharpe's Waterloo

Sharpe's Waterloo 

Napoleon breaks out of exile on Elba and Richard Sharpe is on the march again.  He promised Lucille he wouldn’t fight again, but this is his chance to see Boney for the first time in the battlefield.  What will Lucille do, leave Sharpe or go with him?

Sharpe is off to Belgium to serve as one of the staff to the Prince of Orange. He is soon surprised to be reunited with Patrick Harper, who is there as a civilian, and two of the Chosen Men, Harris and Hagman.

  

Sharpe thinks the Prince of Orange a young aristocratic fool.  He loses even more respect for the Prince as the fight with Napoleon’s troops begins.  Sharpe is sent to command the defense of a key farmhouse, La Haye Sainte, joined by the Chosen Men and Harper. 

Meanwhile Rossendale is serving in Wellington’s cavalry and he and Jane are also in Belgium. What will Sharpe do to get his money back?

  

Should Sharpe have returned to battle or stayed on the farm? Will Harper see Boney (Napoleon)? Will Harris and Hagman win the day?  Will “meeting your Waterloo” enter the world’s vocabulary? 

Another promising young actor played a major guest starring role in the Sharpe series. Paul Bettany played a marvelous Prince of Orange:

Please join new and longtime Sharpe fans for the Global Sharpe Watch this Sunday, September 30, 3:00pm EST/US, 8:00pm UK, 9:00pm Continent on Tweet Chat.  For all the details and "How To's" go to  Sharpe Lives Movie Club Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/SharpeLivesMovieClub?sk=notes

Or to Distracted Musings of One Reality at the link below:

http://distractedinreality.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/sharpe-lives-or-sharpe-sundays/

Did you know that Bonaparte and Wellington shared two mistresses? 

Giuseppina Grassini was an Italian Opera singer and a singing teacher. In the early 1800's she became Napoleon's mistress and he brought her to Paris to sing in several concerts. Then much, much, later when Wellington was British Ambassador to France she became his mistress as well.

Mademoiselle Georges was a French stage actor.  She became Napoleon's mistress after Grassini but the affair ended after Napoleon became Emperor. Year's later in 1815 while Wellington was in France he also courted Mademoiselle Georges. 

"To sleep with one of Napoleon's mistresses might be considered an accident, but to sleep with two might suggest a pattern of triumphalism."  From the book Napoleon & Wellington by Andrew Roberts

Thorin Oakenshield in Hobbit Tie-In Games

"In The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth players will have to build and maintain a kingdom set in Middle-earth. The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age will allow players to control iconic heroes like Gandalf, Legolas, and Thorin Oakenshield to build and lead armies of Elves, Dwarves, or Orcs in to battle to defend the realm."

Read more HERE from the G4 and KABAM Here

The Hobbit Gets Royal Premiere in London

Several Movie and Hollywood news sources are reporting this morning that The Hobbit will get a Royal Premiere in London on December 12. 


"The movie will screen to the Queen or members of the Royal Family in aid of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, the charity set up to look after U.K. industry employees and their families who are suffering from hardship.

CTBF president Anne Bennett said: "We are thrilled to be able to host the U.K. premiere of this highly-anticipated first instalment of “The Hobbit” trilogy. We are thankful to Peter Jackson and Warner Bros., New Line and MGM for providing this opportunity, and are grateful for the unswerving support the Royal Family gives to our charity and the Royal Film Performance."


Read more at The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-gets-373366

Richard Armitage and Aidan Turner

_______________________________________ NEWS_________________

Advanced Ticket Sales for The Hobbit Announced:

 

Thanks to The One Ring Net

Sharpe's Justice: Sharpe Goes Home Next Sharpe Sundays

Sharpe's Justice

It's 1814 and Richard Sharpe is posted to the last place on earth he wants to be: Yorkshire.  "Bloody Yorkshire to find some Bloody Yeoman." Sharpe is going back to the home he left as a different person 20 years before.

Europe is temporarily at peace and Napoleon is in exile at Elba. Sharpe is posted to his native Yorkshire to head the Scarsdale Yeomanry. There he encounters the overdressed and overconfident George Wickham who has been in command of the Yeomanry before Sharpe’s arrival.  

Wickham seems to be allied with two prominent cotton mill owners in town. (They need better looking cotton mill owners in this town.) One of them, Parfitt, has come up from the business ranks to become a wealthy man. He and Sharpe seem to have much in common, though appearances can be deceiving.  

Sharpe  finds out he’s expected to put down post-war unrest.  Now that the war is over England is flooded with unemployed men, including Dan Hagman.  This flood of unemployed has given the mill owners an excuse to lower wages. This is opposed by a rebel in town, Truman, who incites the unemployed to protest and demand better wages.

Sharpe has already encountered Truman on the way into town when he and the Yeomanry are ambushed on the road. But Sharpe and Truman discover they have a very close connection.

Sharpe is also trying to get his money back from his adulterous wife Jane and her new lover Rossendale. He doesn’t know that Rossendale has gambled away all his money.  He’s surprised to find that Jane is now at Rossendale’s ancestral estate near Sharpe in Yorkshire and goes seeking her there. 

To Sharpe’s rescue both in London and in Yorkshire comes his familiar “guardian angel” Lady Anne. She warns Sharpe about Wickham and Parfitt and also about Jane and Rossendale. She’s there to help Sharpe, but in exchange she hopes for more. But Sharpe is still yearning for Lucille who he left back in France.

Will Sharpe reconcile with his childhood in Yorkshire? Will he get his money back from Jane? Will he stay with Lady Anne or go back to Lucille in France?

A little history today. This episode was inspired by the Peterloo Massacre of 1819:

"On the 16th of August 1819 the huge open area around what's now St Peters Square, Manchester, played host to an outrage against over 60,000 peaceful pro-democracy and anti-poverty protesters; an event which became known as The Peterloo Massacre."
From www.peterloomassacre.org read more about it HERE.

For those in the UK or those around the world that watch British Television we have two very familiar faces in this episode:

Philip Glenister who plays Truman and many know from the hit show "Life on Mars" and many, many, other programs.

Wickham is played by Douglas Henshall known to many as Nick Cutter from the hit show "Primeval" and many other programs as well.

Please join new and longtime Sharpe fans for the Global Sharpe Watch this Sunday, September 23, 3:00pm EST/US, 8:00pm UK, 9:00pm Continent on Tweet Chat.  For all the details and "How To's" go to  Sharpe Lives Movie Club Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/SharpeLivesMovieClub?sk=notes

Or to Distracted Musings of One Reality at the link below:

http://distractedinreality.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/sharpe-lives-or-sharpe-sundays/

"A Willing Heart" : At Your Service

What a wonderful Hobbit Trailer #2. I'm in love again with Middle-Earth and my Dwarf Prince of my Willing Heart: Thorin Oakenshield. (The Voice). 

I've watched all the endings on www.thehobbit.com and I love all of them for their own reason, I can't pick just one as my favorite. I've also laughed every time I watch the trailer and various trailer endings, even after watching multiple times, always funny. I even want a Gollum of my own to play riddles with.

"...my captain... my king..."

I would love to hang out with these three and throw some dead fish around. Nice legs Thorin. 

Screencaps: Mine and RichardArmitageNet.com

The Search for Richard III: Wonderful Drawings by Emma Vieceli from The University of Leicester Site

For more drawings and the story of the drawings inspired by the archeological dig and about graphic artist Emma Vieceli go to the link below:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/richard-iii-pictures

Interview with the artist from Medievalist.net

http://www.medievalists.net/2012/09/14/the-story-of-richard-iii-as-graphic-novel/

Sharpe's Revenge this Sunday on Sharpe Sundays: The Peninsular War Comes to a Close

Sharpe's Revenge 

Wellington is winning and we’re coming to the end of the Peninsular War.   Sharpe is in a battle with the French forces led by General Calvet.  Who is that man with Calvet?  Sharpe’s enemy Ducos is back guarding Napoleon’s treasure.  What will happen when Sharpe meets Ducos? Who gets Napoleon’s treasure?

In the home front Jane convinces Sharpe to sign off his money to her in case he dies in battle. Sharpe is so in love he goes for it, and even promises Jane this next battle will be his last one. 

Can a man in the midst of war, a lifetime soldier, make such a promise? Jane has also become great friends with the conniving Lady Molly who covets some of Sharpe’s money.  

Poor Sharpe, Jane is still having dreams of being a grand lady back in England after the war.  Can Sharpe fulfill those dreams?

What does Sharpe dream about doing in peacetime?  He dreams about farming. 

Will Sharpe finally defeat Ducos? Why do we love Frederickson? 

What happens to Napoleon?

For the answer to all these questions join Sharpe Sundays this Sunday, September 16, to watch Sharpe's Revenge with fellow fans. We have a lot of fun and would love to have you join us. 

British Army Recruitment Poster

Please join new and longtime Sharpe fans for the Global Sharpe Watch this Sunday, September 16, 3:00pm EST/US, 8:00pm UK, 9:00pm Continent on Tweet Chat.  For all the details and "How To's" go to  Sharpe Lives Movie Club Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/SharpeLivesMovieClub?sk=notes

Or to Distracted Musings of One Reality at the link below:

http://distractedinreality.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/sharpe-lives-or-sharpe-sundays/

"The Search for Richard III Has Entered a New Phase" Is the Skeleton Found in Leicester the King?

Exciting news yesterday from the archaeological dig in search of the remains of Richard III of England.

To see the entire press conference click HERE.

Renewed interest in Richard III is bound to be a very positive development on the road to Richard Armitage's plans for a series or film based on the historical facts of the king's life. 

From The Telegraph

San Francisco Chronicle

"Richard Buckley, co-director of the university's Archaeological Services, said the bones are a "prime candidate" to be Richard's. The remains are now being examined and the team hopes that DNA can be recovered to aid identification.

Taylor said the skeleton displayed spinal abnormalities consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance.

"We believe that the individual would have had severe scoliosis, which is a form of spinal curvature," Taylor said.

He said the skeleton was apparently of an adult male and in good condition. There were signs of trauma to the skull shortly before death, perhaps from a bladed instrument, and a barbed metal arrowhead was found between vertebrae of the upper back.

Buckley and his team identified a possible location of the grave through map regression analysis, starting with a current map and analyzing earlier maps to discover what had changed and not changed. Ground penetrating radar was employed." San Francisco Chronicle

More background on the Search for Richard III in the 

King Richard Armitage website:

http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com/history/search-king-richard/

Vote for "Where to bury King Richard III" Poll:

http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com/2012/09/19/to-bury-a-king/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KingRichardArmitage+%28King+Richard+Armitage%29

Richard Armitage One of "The Most Influential People in Leicestershire"
Leicester Mercury
http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/news.html#sep12

Interesting comments  from Professor Norman Housley and Dr Andrew Hopper the University of Leicester's School of Historical Studies:

"Little reliable contemporary evidence has survived for the nature of his kingship because his reign proved so short and because his Tudor successors legitimised themselves by encouraging literary works (of which Shakespeare was not the first) that depicted him as a caricature tyrant. So, if it proves possible to nail the Tudor slander of the ‘hunchback king’ with medical evidence of severe scoliosis rather than kyphosis, it will be gilt on the gingerbread because efforts during the last three centuries to restore his reputation have never fully succeeded in undermining this enduring popular image.

"Secondly, irrespective of the Richard myth, the discovery of the body will be significant because of what is already being indicated about the cause of death. The evidence of an injury to the back of the skull and the discovery of the arrowhead between vertebrae of the upper back will stimulate debate about exactly how Richard was killed at Bosworth, and beyond that, about close combat in medieval battles. This is fitting because Richard polarised opinion during his life and from beyond the grave; his reliance on a northern regional powerbase to maintain his rule fostered a north-south divide in allegiance partially reflected in the historiography since."