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A Richard Sharpe Adventure — by Bernard Cornwell
Richard Sharpe Series in Order: 24 books
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Sharpe's Tiger
Book - 1
RICHARD SHARPE AND THE SIEGE OF SERINGAPATAM, 1799 The year is 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just beginning his military career. An inexperienced young private in His Majesty's service, Sharpe becomes part of an expedition to India to push the ruthl...
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Sharpe's Triumph
Book - 2
RICHARD SHARPE AND THE BATTLE OF ASSAYE, SEPTEMBER 1803 It is India, 1803. In the four years since he earned his sergeant's stripes, young Richard Sharpe has led a relatively peaceful existence. But Sharpe's reverie ends when he barely survives a ...
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Sharpe's Fortress
Book - 3
RICHARD SHARPE AND THE SIEGE OF GAWILGHUR, DECEMBER 1803 Richard Sharpe, now an officer in Wellesley's army, faces a battle of a different kind--this time among his own ranks. Uncomfortable with his newfound authority and unwilling colleagues, Sha...
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Sharpe's Trafalgar
Book - 4
Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 The year is 1805, and the Calliope, with Richard Sharpe aboard, is captured by a formidable French warship, the Revenant, which has been terrorizing British nautical traffic in the India...
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Sharpe's Prey
Book - 5
RICHARD SHARPE AND THE EXPEDITION TO COPENHAGEN, 1807 The year is 1807, and Richard Sharpe is back in England, where his career seems to have come to a dead end, despite his heroics in Britain's recent victory at Trafalgar. Loveless, destitute, an...
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Sharpe's Rifles
Book - 6
WHEN SHARPE RISES FROM THE RANKS TO TAKE COMMAND, HE FINDS HIMSELF WITH AN UNEXPECTED ALLY IN THE WAR AGAINST NAPOLEON It's 1809, and the powerful French juggernaut is sweeping across Spain. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is newly in command of the dem...
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Sharpe's Havoc
Book - 7
HISTORY COMES DANGEROUSLY ALIVE RICHARD SHARPE AND THE CAMPAIGN IN NORTHERN PORTUGAL, SPRING 1809 Lieutenant Richard Sharpe finds himself fighting the ruthless armies of Napoleon Bonaparte as they try to bring the whole of the Iberian Peninsula...
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Sharpe's Eagle
Book - 8
RICHARD SHARPE FEARLESS SOLDIER, RUTH LESS ENEMY, AND PASSIONATE LOVER Captain Richard Sharpe--bold, professional, and ruthless--is leading his battle-hardened veterans against Napoleon at Talavera in the bloodiest Peninsula battle yet. Sharpe has...
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Sharpe's Escape
Book - 8
Richard Sharpe and the Bussaco Campaign, 1810 Only two obstacles stand between Napoleon's mighty army and its seemingly certain conquest of Portugal: a land wasted and stripped of food at Wellington's orders ... and Captain Richard Sharpe. But peril...
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Sharpe's Gold
Book - 9
WELLINGTON MUST CALL ON THE ONLY MAN BRAVE AND RUTHLESS ENOUGH TO WIN AT ANY COST CAPTAIN RICHARD SHARPE A year after the victory at Talavera, Wellington's army, outnumbered and bankrupt, is on the verge of collapse. Its only hope lies in a cache ...
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Sharpe's Fury
Book - 9
The year is 1811. With the British army penned into a small part of Portugal, and all of Spain except for the coastal city of Cadiz fallen to the invader, the French appear to have won their war. Raised in the gutters of London and taught to fight, C...
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Sharpe's Battle
Book - 10
Spain 1811 As Napoleon threatens to crush Britain on the battlefield, Lt. Col. Richard Sharpe leads a ragtag army to exact personal revenge against a French general known for his acts of terror. Sharpe's Battle takes Richard Sharpe and his company...
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Sharpe's Company
Book - 11
MEET RICHARD SHARPE FEARLESS SOLDIER, RUTHLESS ENEMY, AND PASSIONATE LOVER The year is 1812, and Richard Sharpe has one mission: to thwart Napoleon's dream of empire. Sharpe and the fighting men of the Light Company must gain control of two fortre...
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Sharpe's Sword
Book - 12
FRANCE'S MOST RUTHLESS ASSASSIN FAILED TO KILL CAPTAIN RICHARD SHARPE ON THE FIRST TRY. WILL HE GET A SECOND CHANCE? Colonel Levroux is killing Britain's most valuable spies, and it's up to Richard Sharpe to stop him. Thrust into the unfamiliar wo...
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Sharpe's Enemy
Book - 13
ONLY ONE MAN STANDS BETWEEN NAPOLEON'S ARMY AND A BRITISH DEFEAT -- MAJOR RICHARD SHARPE A band of renegades led by Sharpe's vicious mortal enemy, Obadiah Hakeswill, holds a group of British and French women hostage in a strategic mountain pass. O...
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Sharpe's Honor
Book - 14
STOPPING WELLINGTON'S FORCES IN SPAIN AND DESTROYING MAJOR RICHARD SHARPE IS A PERFECT PLOT FOR NAPOLEON An unfinished duel, a midnight murder, and the treachery of a beautiful prostitute lead to Sharpe's imprisonment. Condemned to die as an assas...
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Sharpe's Regiment
Book - 15
A CORRUPT POLITICAL ENEMY IS DETERMINED TO DISBAND THE SOUTH ESSEX REGIMENT AND TO DESTROY MAJOR RICHARD SHARPE Shape returns to England and discovers an illegal recruiting ring that sells soldiers like cattle to other divisions. The ringleaders k...
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Sharpe's Siege
Book - 16
TRAPPED WITH HIS BACK TO THE SEA, MAJOR RICHARD SHARPE AND A HANDFUL OF MEN MUST STAND AGAINST A BATTALION OF FRENCH TROOPS Sharpe's mission seemed simple: capture a small unguarded French coastal fort, cripple Napoleon's supply lines, and retreat...
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Sharpe's Revenge
Book - 17
WHEN HIS HONOR AND REPUTATION ARE AT STAKE, SHARPE SEEKS REVENGE AT ANY COST It is 1814, and the defeat of Napoleon seems imminent--if the well-protected city of Toulouse can be conquered. For Richard Sharpe, the battle turns out to be one of the ...
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Sharpe's Waterloo
Book - 18
JUNE 1815: THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, THE PRINCE OF ORANGE, AND NAPOLEON WILL MEET ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND DECIDE THE FATE OF EUROPE With the emperor Napoleon at its head, an enormous French army is marching toward Brussels. The British and their alli...
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Sharpe's Devil
Book - 19
AN HONORED VETERAN OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS. LT COLONEL RICHARD SHARPE IS DRAWN INTO A DEADLY BATTLE, BOTH O LAND AND ON THE HIGH SEAS 1820--Richard Sharpe, a peaceful farmer since Waterloo, comes out of retirement to undertake a perilous mission. H...
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Sharpe's Assassin
Book - 20
SHARPE IS BACK. If any man can do the impossible it's Richard Sharpe . . . Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe is a man with a reputation. Born in the gutter, raised a foundling, he joined the army twenty-one years ago, and it's been his home ev...
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Sharpe's Command
Book - 21
New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell returns to the early years of the nineteenth century, capturing the bravery, battles, and bloodshed of Britain's peninsular wars with this epic tale featuring his iconic hero Richard Sharpe.Outsider....
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Sharpe's Storm
Book - 22
Sharpe's Storm has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher....
Series Premise
Richard Sharpe is a man who has nothing but his courage and his rifle. Born illegitimate and poor in London’s slums, he joins the army at sixteen to escape poverty and prison. Over the course of the series, he fights in nearly every major British campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, rising from private to major (and eventually brevet lieutenant colonel) through battlefield commissions earned by extraordinary bravery. Sharpe is not a gentleman officer; he is a rough, unpolished man who speaks with a London accent, despises aristocratic privilege, and trusts his instincts and his men more than any book-learned tactics. Each novel places Sharpe and his small band of riflemen (the elite 95th Rifles) in a key historical moment: capturing a French eagle at Talavera, storming the walls of Badajoz, defending against overwhelming odds at Fuentes de Oñoro, or fighting at Waterloo. The stories combine meticulous historical accuracy (real battles, generals, and tactics) with fictional drama: Sharpe often faces personal enemies (rival officers, vengeful Frenchmen, treacherous allies), romantic entanglements, and moral tests. He is driven by a fierce sense of justice, hatred of bullies (especially aristocratic ones), and loyalty to the men who fight beside him. The series explores the brutal reality of Napoleonic warfare—disease, starvation, flogging, rape, and slaughter—while celebrating the courage, camaraderie, and sheer bloody-mindedness that allowed Britain to prevail.
Richard Sharpe Series Characters
Richard Sharpe: The central protagonist—a tall, dark-haired, scarred rifleman who rises from private to lieutenant colonel through sheer courage and skill. Born in London’s slums, orphaned young, he is brutalized by the army’s discipline but never broken. He is fiercely loyal to his men, distrustful of officers (especially aristocrats), and deeply moral in his own rough way. He is not invincible—he is wounded repeatedly, makes mistakes, and carries guilt—but his determination and marksmanship are legendary.
- Patrick Harper: Sharpe’s Irish sergeant and closest friend—huge, loyal, cheerful, and deadly. Harper is the voice of common sense and humor, often saving Sharpe from his own recklessness.
- Lady Grace Hale (later Sharpe): Sharpe’s great love—a beautiful, intelligent aristocrat who defies convention to be with him. Their romance is passionate and tragic.
- Lord Wellington: The Iron Duke—appears frequently as Sharpe’s commander. Cold, brilliant, and ruthless, he recognizes Sharpe’s value despite his low birth.
- Supporting/recurring:
- Major Hogan — Intelligence officer and friend.
- Captain Murray and other officers of the 95th Rifles.
- Various villains — French officers, traitors, corrupt officials, and rival British officers who underestimate Sharpe.
Setting of the Richard Sharpe Series
The setting is the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815), primarily the Peninsular War (1808–1814) in Portugal and Spain, with later books covering the Waterloo campaign and other theaters. The landscape is vividly rendered: the scorching Spanish plains, the blood-soaked walls of Badajoz, the muddy fields of Vitoria, the frozen passes of the Pyrenees, and the rain-soaked ridge at Waterloo. Battles are depicted with brutal accuracy—musket volleys, cannon fire, cavalry charges, bayonet work, and the chaos of hand-to-hand combat.
Beyond the battlefield, the series moves through garrison towns, Lisbon’s docks, Madrid’s palaces, French chateaus, Indian forts (in the India prequels), and the English countryside. Naval scenes appear in several books (ships, storms, boarding actions). The world is dirty, bloody, and vividly real: soldiers march in tattered red coats, camp in mud, loot villages, and die in agony from wounds or disease. The era is faithfully portrayed: uniforms, weapons, tactics, food, and social attitudes are meticulously researched.
Tone & Themes of the Richard Sharpe Series
The tone is gritty, visceral, and unflinchingly realistic—military historical fiction with a hard edge and a deep respect for the common soldier. Cornwell’s prose is muscular and direct: battle scenes are vivid, bloody, and chaotic, capturing the smoke, noise, fear, and sudden violence of 19th-century combat. Death is frequent, gruesome, and random; heroism is often accidental or reluctant. The books do not romanticize war—soldiers are hungry, terrified, diseased, and brutalized—but they do celebrate the extraordinary courage and loyalty that emerge in the worst conditions. Humor is present but dark and gallows-like: soldiers’ black jokes, Sharpe’s dry sarcasm, the absurdity of aristocratic incompetence. Romance is passionate but unsentimental—women are strong, complex, and often as dangerous as the men. The series is morally complex: Sharpe is no saint—he kills, cheats, and sometimes acts ruthlessly—but he has a core of decency that sets him apart from the truly villainous. The tone is ultimately heroic and redemptive: good men (and women) endure, evil is punished, and loyalty and courage matter more than birth or rank.
Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe novels are a towering achievement in historical military fiction—24 gripping, meticulously researched adventures that follow one of the greatest soldier-heroes in literature from the muddy fields of India to the bloody ridge at Waterloo. Through Sharpe’s rise from gutter-born private to officer and legend, the books celebrate courage, loyalty, and raw skill in the brutal, magnificent theater of the Napoleonic Wars. With unforgettable battles, vivid period detail, dry humor, and a hero who is as flawed as he is formidable, the series delivers both heart-stopping action and quiet moments of humanity. Sharpe is not a gentleman or a saint—he is a survivor, a killer, and a man of honor in a world that often rewards neither. The novels are timeless: thrilling, authentic, and deeply moving, they remind us that heroism is not born of rank or privilege but of stubborn will and the refusal to abandon those who depend on you. Richard Sharpe endures—one march, one battle, one impossible victory at a time—as the embodiment of the soldier’s creed: stand fast, fight hard, and never surrender.
Books in this series fall into the following genres
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