Mr. Cornwell,
I am new to your work and have begun with the Sharpe series. After finishing “Sharpe’s Tiger”, I gleefully moved on to “Triumph” and have a quick geographical question for you.
Assaye is easy enough to find on a map, as is modern day Ahmednagar. I’ve noticed you mention the massacre at Chasalgaon is fictional, but was it a real location? Is it the modern day city of Chasal Najhi? I put that at about three days march (with loaded wagons) from Ahmednagar. That would be in line with “Triumph’s” claim that it took Dodd three days to reach the city with the cartridges after the massacre.
However, this would put Chasalgaon anywhere from 450 to 500 miles from Seringapatam. Sharpe was in Chasalgaon with six men from Seringapatam. Did these men travel that incredibly huge distance to be present at the massacre, or am I mistaken in my geography? Seems like a long way to send a sergeant, even one as capable as our man Sharpe.
Looking forward to more adventures with Sharpie,
Matt