Recap / Sharpe

Sharpe refers to a series of novels by Bernard Cornwell published irregularly since 1981, and a TV adaptation starring Sean Bean that aired in the 1990s and the late 2000s. Both series chronicle the career of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.

Novels

The Sharpe novels are listed here based on their internal chronology, rather than their date of publication.

1. Sharpe's Tiger (Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799). Private Sharpe and Lieutenant William Lawford are sent to infiltrate Seringapatam, the forstress of the Tippo Sultan, and rescue British spymaster Colonel McCandless. First published in 1997.
2. Sharpe's Triumph (Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803). Sergeant Sharpe is the sole survivor of a massacre by renegade East India Company officer William Dodd, and joins Colonel McCandless to hunt Dodd down. First published in 1998.
3. Sharpe's Fortress (Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803). Ensign Sharpe faces murderers and conspirators within his own unit during the British attack on Gawilghur and its defenders, led by William Dodd. First published in 1999.
4. Sharpe's Trafalgar (Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, October 1805). On the long sea journey from India to England, Ensign Sharpe becomes involved in a scandalous romance and the most decisive naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. First published in 2000.
5. Sharpe's Prey (Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Copenhagen, 1807). Reeling from a personal loss, Lieutenant Sharpe is assigned as bodyguard to a British diplomat traveling to Denmark, and faces French spies and schemes during the British siege. First published in 2001.
6. Sharpe's Rifles (Richard Sharpe and the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809). During the British retreat from Corunna, Lieutenant Sharpe takes command of a small Rifle company and join forces with Spanish rebels to survive. First published in 1988.
7. Sharpe's Havoc (Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in Northern Portugal, Spring 1809). Lieutenant Sharpe and his Riflemen, on a mission to rescue a young Englishwoman, face off against a rogue British official turned agent provocateur. First published in 2003.
8. Sharpe's Eagle (Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809). Assigned to the new South Essex Regiment and its inept commander, Lieutenant Sharpe and his Riflemen attempt to earn glory and promotion during the Battle of Talavera. First published in 1981.
9. Sharpe's Gold (Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810). Captain Sharpe and his Riflemen are sent to locate a British exploring officer, leading them to encounter Spanish partisans and a hoard of gold. First published in 1981.
10. Sharpe's Escape (Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Bussaco, September 1810). Amidst the British retreat to the Lines of Torres Verdas, Captain Sharpe hunts for a Portugese criminal and slave trader. First published in 2004.
11. Sharpe's Fury (Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Barrosa, March 1811, Winter 1811). Captain Sharpe and his Riflemen are trapped in the besieged city of Cádiz, where they become pawns in the political games of ambassadors and spymasters. First published in 2007.
12. Sharpe's Battle (Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, May 1811). Amidst a decisive battle and a personal fued with a fearsome French general, Captain Sharpe is assigned to train a mediocre Spanish unit. First published in 1995.
13. Sharpe's Company (Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Badajoz, January to April 1812). Captain Sharpe is demoted to Lieutenant, and must distinguish himself during the Siege of Badajoz to earn back his command. First published in 1982.
14. Sharpe's Sword (Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign, June and July 1812. To protect the identiy of Britain's most important intelligence agent, Captain Sharpe must ferret out a French spy ring and hunt down a duplicitous officer. First published in 1983.
15. Sharpe's Skirmish (Richard Sharpe and the Defence of the Tormes, August 1812). Captain Sharpe is assigned to guard a Commissary Officer, unaware their location is the target of a French raid. Short story, first published in 1999.
16. Sharpe's Enemy (Richard Sharpe and the Defence of Portugal, Christmas 1812). A small army of British, French and Portugese deserters capture a group of noblewomen, and Major Sharpe is given the mission to secure their release. First published in 1984.
17. Sharpe's Honour (Richard Sharpe and the Vitoria Campaign, February to June 1813). Major Ducos, a French spymaster, schemes to secure a peace between France and Spain — a scheme that begins with framing Major Sharpe for murder. First published in 1985.
18. Sharpe's Regiment (Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November 1813). Major Sharpe and Sergeant Harper return to England to discover why the South Essex isn't receiving the reinforcements it needs. First published in 1986.
19. Sharpe's Christmas (December 1813, Franco-Spanish border). Major Sharpe and the Prince of Wales Own attempt to stop a retreating French unit, commanded by an old friend of Sharpe's. Short story, first published in 1994.
20. Sharpe's Siege (Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814). Major Sharpe and his Riflemen are betrayed by a French agent, and forced to defend a fortress against the forces of Major Ducos. First published in 1987.
21. Sharpe's Revenge (Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814). As the Penninsula War draws to a close, Major Sharpe is betrayed by his wife and framed by Major Ducos for the theft of Napoleon's treasury. First published in 1989.
22. Sharpe's Waterloo (Richard Sharpe and the Waterloo Campaign, 15 June to 18 June 1815). During the Hundred Days, Richard Sharpe joins a Dutch-Belgian regiment as a Lieutenant Colonel and is reunited with former comrades at the Battle of Waterloo. First published in 1990.
23. Sharpe's Assassin (Richard Sharpe and the Occupation of Paris, June to July 1815). Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe is given the task of investigating a cabal of French soldiers determined to avenge Napoleon's defeat. First published in 2021.
24. Sharpe's Ransom (December 1816, Normandy). Following the Battle of Waterloo, Sharpe returns to his peaceful life with Lucille. Short story, first published in 1994.
25. Sharpe's Devil (Richard Sharpe, Thomas Cochrane and the Emperor, 1820–21). When their old ally Don Vivar goes missing during the Chilean War of Independence, Vivar's wife asks Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe and Sergeant Harper to travel to Chile and find him. First published in 1992.

TV Series

The Sharpe TV series aired between 1993 and 1997, with a pair of miniseries that aired in the late 2000s.

• Series 1 (1993):
  1. Sharpe's Rifles. Sergeant Richard Sharpe saves Sir Arthur Wellesley's life, earning a field commission to Lieutenant. Despite not being "a proper officer", he earns the respect of the Chosen Men, makes an ally of Spanish rebel Don Vivar and becomes lovers with partisan Teresa Monero.
  2. Sharpe's Eagle. Sharpe and his Chosen Men accompany Major Hogan and the South Essex Regiment to destroy a vital bridge. When the incompetance of the South Essex's commander, Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, results of the loss of the Regimental colours, Sharpe resolves to take an Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Talavera.

• Series 2 (1994):
  1. Sharpe's Company. Sharpe learns that his wife Teresa and newborn daughter Antonia are trapped in Badajoz, the fortress under British siege. Making things even more difficult is Sharpe's demotion to Lieutenant and the arrival of vengeful enemy Sgt. Obadiah Hakeswill.
  2. Sharpe's Enemy. Sharpe and his Chosen Men are sent to retrieve the wife of a British general from an army of British, French and Portugese deserters led by Sgt. Hakeswill.
  3. Sharpe's Honour. Sharpe is accused of murdering the husband of La Marquesa and threatening the alliance between England and Spain. With Sergeant Harper's help, Sharpe uncovers a revenge scheme by his nemesis, French spymaster Major Pierre Ducos.

• Series 3 (1995):
  1. Sharpe's Gold. Sharpe and his Chosen Men are assigned to trade British rifles for captured deserters, but their mission is complicated by Provost officers and a woman searching for her missing father.
  2. Sharpe's Battle. On the Duke of Wellington's orders, Sharpe must train a unit of incompetant Spanish soldiers in time to battle Brigadier General Loup, a French officer who has sworn revenge against Sharpe.
  3. Sharpe's Sword. Napoleon has dispatched Colonel Leroux to find and capture El Mirador, Britain's most important intelligence agent. It's up to Sharpe and his Chosen Men to find Leroux first and protect the British spy.

• Series 4 (1996):
  1. Sharpe's Regiment. When Sharpe and Harper return to England to find out why the South Essex hasn't been receiving reinforcements, they are targeted by assassins, forced to go undercover and discover a lethal conspiracy.
  2. Sharpe's Siege. With Major Ducos scheming to thwart the British advance against France and fool the Duke of Wellington, Sharpe and the outnumbered, underprovisioned Prince of Wales Own must defend against a French brigade.
  3. Sharpe's Mission. Sharpe teams up with Major Brand, a legend in the British Army, to blow up a store of French gunpowder — unaware that Brand is a traitor and a French agent.

• Series 5 (1997):
  1. Sharpe's Revenge. The Pennisula War is over, but just as Sharpe is ready to return to his wife in England, he is accused of stealing from Napoleon's treasury and becomes a pawn of Major Ducos' latest scheme.
  2. Sharpe's Justice. Back in England during the Peace of 1814, Sharpe is thrust into a violent dispute between Yorkshire workers and their penny-pinching paymasters, all while trying to recover the money stolen by his adulterous wife and her lover.
  3. Sharpe's Waterloo. The armies of Europe is uniting, under the banner of the Duke of Wellington, against the armies of an escaped Napoleon. Sharpe returns to service as a Lieutenant Colonel in a Dutch-Belgian regiment and reunites with friends and comrades in the final battle against Napoleon.

• Miniseries:
  1. Sharpe's Challenge (2006). At the urging of Wellington, Sharpe travels to India to track down a missing British agent — his friend, Patrick Harper. Once reunited, they infiltrate Seringapatam to rescue a general's captured daughter and put down a rebellion led by rogue British officer William Dodd.
  2. Sharpe's Peril (2008). Returning from Seringapatam, Sharpe and Harper agree to escort Madame Bonnet, a fiesty Frenchwoman, and find themselves travelling with a ragtag column of soldiers and civilians. Beset by bandits, Sharpe takes command of the column and soon learns his enemies are not what they appear.