Sharpe's Tiger
India · Seringapatam, 1799
Private Sharpe slips into the Tippoo Sultan's fortress on a clandestine mission and earns his first stripe in the storming of Seringapatam.
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Fiction · Sharpe
Twenty-four novels from a Seringapatam gunner to a Lt-Colonel at Waterloo, and a last, ghostly voyage to Chile.
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Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe Novels: The Complete Guide
Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe is the greatest fictional soldier of the Napoleonic Wars. Across 24 novels, Sharpe rises from a private in the 33rd Foot to a lieutenant colonel at Waterloo, fighting his way through India, the Peninsular War and the Hundred Days. The Sharpe books in order take you from the siege of Seringapatam in 1799 to a final haunted voyage to Chile, with the real campaigns of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte as their backdrop.
The ITV television series starring Sean Bean brought Sharpe to millions of viewers between 1993 and 2008. Below you will find every novel in chronological order, the complete TV series, a character guide, and recommendations for readers who want more.
The Chosen Man
Cornwell explicitly modelled Sharpe on the idea of a ranker-promoted officer in a class-bound army, a tiny minority in fact, but represented in the period by figures like John Shipp. The 95th Rifles gave Cornwell both a famously egalitarian regiment and a weapon (the Baker rifle) accurate enough for his hero's marksmanship to be credible.
History beside Fiction
Most major set-pieces are historical: Talavera's burning fields, Badajoz's ditch of the dead, Salamanca's forty-minute rout, Waterloo's crisis at La Haye Sainte. Cornwell inserts Sharpe at the margin and allows the real battle to happen around him. The Author's Note at the end of every book tells the reader what he has invented.
A Reading Order
New readers may prefer to start with Sharpe’s Rifles (1988) or Sharpe’s Eagle (1981), the first-written novels, which introduce Sharpe at his most essential. Chronological order (as below) reads cleaner on a second pass, once Harper’s jokes and Hakeswill’s curses have become familiar.
Where to Start
New to Sharpe? The series was not written in chronological order, so there are two good entry points. Most readers begin with Sharpe’s Eagle, which drops you straight into the Peninsular War with Sharpe already an officer. If you prefer to follow his full arc from private soldier upward, start with Sharpe’s Tiger, the chronological beginning set in India. Either works; Eagle is the faster introduction, Tiger the longer journey.
Recommended
Start with Sharpe’s Eagle (1981)
The first novel Cornwell published. Sharpe is already a lieutenant in the 95th Rifles serving in Spain. You meet Sergeant Harper, see your first volley, and watch Sharpe seize a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Talavera. The best introduction to his character and the series’ voice.
Chronological
Start with Sharpe’s Tiger (1997)
The chronological beginning. Sharpe is a private soldier at the siege of Seringapatam in India, 1799. You follow his entire journey from the ranks to a commission. A longer road, but you see every rung of the ladder he climbs.
The TV Series
ITV · 1993 to 2008 · Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe
Sixteen television films were produced by ITV between 1993 and 2008, filmed largely on location in Turkey, Portugal and India. Paul McGann was originally cast as Sharpe but was injured during early filming; Sean Bean replaced him and made the role his own. Cornwell later rewrote Sharpe’s backstory to give him Yorkshire origins, matching Bean’s accent and screen presence.
Streaming availability changes frequently. Search your preferred platform for “Sharpe” or check physical media retailers for the complete DVD box set.
| Film | Year | Based on | Campaign / Battle |
|---|---|---|---|
Sharpe's Rifles | 1993 | Sharpe's RiflesBuy | Retreat to Corunna, 1809 |
Sharpe's Eagle | 1993 | Sharpe's EagleBuy | Battle of Talavera, 1809 |
Sharpe's Company | 1994 | Sharpe's CompanyBuy | Siege of Badajoz, 1812 |
Sharpe's Enemy | 1994 | Sharpe's EnemyBuy | Adrados, Christmas 1812 |
Sharpe's Honour | 1994 | Sharpe's HonourBuy | Battle of Vitoria, 1813 |
Sharpe's GoldOriginal Screenplay | 1995 | Sharpe's GoldBuy | Portugal, 1810 |
Sharpe's Battle | 1995 | Sharpe's BattleBuy | Fuentes de Oñoro, 1811 |
Sharpe's Sword | 1995 | Sharpe's SwordBuy | Battle of Salamanca, 1812 |
Sharpe's Regiment | 1996 | Sharpe's RegimentBuy | England, 1813 |
Sharpe's Siege | 1996 | Sharpe's SiegeBuy | France, 1814 |
Sharpe's MissionOriginal Screenplay | 1996 | Original screenplayBuy | France, 1813 |
Sharpe's Revenge | 1997 | Sharpe's RevengeBuy | Toulouse / Naples, 1814 |
Sharpe's JusticeOriginal Screenplay | 1997 | Original screenplayBuy | England, 1814 |
Sharpe's Waterloo | 1997 | Sharpe's WaterlooBuy | Battle of Waterloo, 1815 |
Sharpe's ChallengeOriginal Screenplay | 2006 | Original screenplayBuy | India, 1803 |
Sharpe's PerilOriginal Screenplay | 2008 | Original screenplayBuy | India, 1803 |
Novels and Their Real Battles
| Novel | Real Battle / Campaign | What Cornwell fictionalised |
|---|---|---|
| Sharpe's Tiger | Siege of Seringapatam, 1799 | Real siege; fictional mission inside the fortress |
| Sharpe's Triumph | Battle of Assaye, 1803 | Real battle; fictional act earning Sharpe's commission |
| Sharpe's Fortress | Siege of Gawilghur, 1803 | Real siege; fictional officer rivalries |
| Sharpe's Trafalgar | Battle of Trafalgar, 1805 | Real battle; Sharpe placed aboard a merchantman |
| Sharpe's Prey | Bombardment of Copenhagen, 1807 | Real event; fictional espionage subplot |
| Sharpe's Rifles | Retreat to Corunna, 1809 | Real retreat; fictional relic-recovery mission |
| Sharpe's Havoc | Crossing of the Douro, 1809 | Real campaign; fictional rescue plot |
| Sharpe's Eagle | Battle of Talavera, 1809 | Real battle; fictional capture of the Eagle |
| Sharpe's Gold | Lines of Torres Vedras, 1810 | Real campaign; fictional treasure hunt |
| Sharpe's Escape | Battle of Bussaco, 1810 | Real battle; fictional civilian antagonists |
| Sharpe's Fury | Battle of Barrosa, 1811 | Real battle; fictional Cádiz intrigue |
| Sharpe's Battle | Fuentes de Oñoro, 1811 | Real battle; fictional Irish company |
| Sharpe's Company | Siege of Badajoz, 1812 | Real siege; Hakeswill subplot fictional |
| Sharpe's Command | Portuguese border, 1812 | Real campaign; fictional covert mission |
| Sharpe's Sword | Battle of Salamanca, 1812 | Real battle; fictional French swordsman |
| Sharpe's Enemy | Winter 1812 | Fictional battle at Adrados; real setting |
| Sharpe's Honour | Battle of Vitoria, 1813 | Real battle; fictional framing plot |
| Sharpe's Regiment | England, 1813 | Real recruiting system; fictional crimping racket |
| Sharpe's Siege | France, 1814 | Real final campaign; fictional coastal fort |
| Sharpe's Revenge | Battle of Toulouse, 1814 | Real battle; fictional theft accusation |
| Sharpe's Waterloo | Battle of Waterloo, 1815 | Real battle; Sharpe as fictional liaison officer |
| Sharpe's Assassin | Occupation of Paris, 1815 | Real occupation; fictional assassination plot |
| Sharpe's Storm | Invasion of southern France, 1813 | Real campaign; fictional Pyrenean mission |
| Sharpe's Devil | Chilean War of Independence, 1820 | Real war; fictional encounter with Cochrane |
Publication Order vs Chronological Order
Cornwell wrote the Peninsular War novels first, beginning with Sharpe’s Eagle in 1981. He then went back to write the India prequels (Tiger, Triumph, Fortress) in the late 1990s, and continued to fill gaps in the chronology with later books. The result: publication order and story order are quite different.
Publication Order
- 1.Sharpe's Eagle (1981)
- 2.Sharpe's Gold (1981)
- 3.Sharpe's Company (1982)
- 4.Sharpe's Sword (1983)
- 5.Sharpe's Enemy (1984)
- 6.Sharpe's Honour (1985)
- 7.Sharpe's Regiment (1986)
- 8.Sharpe's Siege (1987)
- 9.Sharpe's Rifles (1988)
- 10.Sharpe's Revenge (1989)
- 11.Sharpe's Waterloo (1990)
- 12.Sharpe's Devil (1992)
- 13.Sharpe's Battle (1995)
- 14.Sharpe's Tiger (1997)
- 15.Sharpe's Triumph (1998)
- 16.Sharpe's Fortress (1999)
- 17.Sharpe's Trafalgar (2000)
- 18.Sharpe's Prey (2001)
- 19.Sharpe's Havoc (2003)
- 20.Sharpe's Escape (2004)
- 21.Sharpe's Fury (2006)
- 22.Sharpe's Assassin (2021)
- 23.Sharpe's Command (2023)
- 24.Sharpe's Storm (2024)
Chronological Order (Sharpe’s life)
- 1.Sharpe's Tiger
- 2.Sharpe's Triumph
- 3.Sharpe's Fortress
- 4.Sharpe's Trafalgar
- 5.Sharpe's Prey
- 6.Sharpe's Rifles
- 7.Sharpe's Havoc
- 8.Sharpe's Eagle
- 9.Sharpe's Gold
- 10.Sharpe's Escape
- 11.Sharpe's Fury
- 12.Sharpe's Battle
- 13.Sharpe's Company
- 14.Sharpe's Command
- 15.Sharpe's Sword
- 16.Sharpe's Enemy
- 17.Sharpe's Honour
- 18.Sharpe's Regiment
- 19.Sharpe's Siege
- 20.Sharpe's Revenge
- 21.Sharpe's Waterloo
- 22.Sharpe's Assassin
- 23.Sharpe's Storm
- 24.Sharpe's Devil
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The Chronicle
Twenty-four novels in the order of Sharpe’s life
Sharpe's Triumph
India · Assaye, 1803
Sergeant Sharpe fights the bloody day of Assaye at Arthur Wellesley's side and commits the act that will win him a commission.
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Sharpe's Fortress
India · Gawilghur, 1803
Newly-commissioned Ensign Sharpe climbs the cliff-fortress of Gawilghur against both Mahratta guns and the gentlemen of his own regiment.
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Sharpe's Trafalgar
East Indiaman Calliope, 1805
Homeward-bound Sharpe is caught aboard a merchantman at the greatest sea battle ever fought.
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Sharpe's Prey
Denmark · Copenhagen, 1807
Sharpe hunts a Danish traitor through a burning city during Britain's ugly seizure of the Danish fleet.
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Sharpe's Rifles
Spain · Retreat to Corunna, 1809
Cut off in the Galician mountains, Lieutenant Sharpe must shepherd a sacred relic and an unwilling company of riflemen to safety.
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Sharpe's Havoc
Portugal · Crossing of the Douro, 1809
Sharpe defends an Anglo-Portuguese girl and gets tangled in Wellesley's audacious stroke at Oporto.
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Sharpe's Eagle
Spain · Talavera, 1809
Attached to the cowardly South Essex at Talavera, Sharpe seizes a French Imperial Eagle and makes his first enemies in high places.
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Sharpe's Gold
Spain · Lines of Torres Vedras, 1810
Sharpe hunts a fortune in Spanish gold through the Portuguese interior to pay Wellington's hungry army.
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Sharpe's Escape
Portugal · Bussaco, 1810
Sharpe crosses the murderous Ferragus brothers as the French march into the scorched earth before the Lines.
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Sharpe's Fury
Spain · Barrosa, 1811
Sharpe is thrown into the brief, ferocious fight at Barrosa outside beleaguered Cádiz.
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Sharpe's Battle
Spain · Fuentes de Oñoro, 1811
Sharpe commands an unwanted Irish company at the confused, bloody stand at Fuentes de Oñoro.
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Sharpe's Company
Spain · Ciudad Rodrigo & Badajoz, 1812
Sergeant Hakeswill returns as Sharpe storms the terrible breach of Badajoz.
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Sharpe's Command
Portuguese–Spanish border, 1812
Sharpe leads a covert mission behind French lines before Wellington's march on Salamanca.
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Sharpe's Sword
Spain · Salamanca, 1812
Sharpe hunts the French sword-master Colonel Leroux through the campaign that ends in rout on the Arapiles.
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Sharpe's Enemy
Spain · Adrados, Christmas 1812
A band of deserters under Hakeswill seize a mountain village and an English colonel's wife on the blackest Christmas of the war.
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Sharpe's Honour
Spain · Vitoria, 1813
Sharpe is framed, tried, and killed (officially) on the morning of Vitoria.
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Sharpe's Regiment
England & the Pyrenees, 1813
Back in England, Sharpe investigates the crimping racket that is stealing the 2nd Battalion of the South Essex.
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Sharpe's Siege
France · Atlantic coast, 1814
Sharpe is handed a rotting coastal fort in a forgotten corner of the final campaign.
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Sharpe's Revenge
France & Naples, April 1814
With the war over, Sharpe must clear his name of theft across a France in Bourbon-restorations mood.
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Sharpe's Waterloo
Belgium · Quatre Bras & Waterloo, 1815
Lt-Colonel Sharpe rides into the Hundred Days and the slaughter on the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean.
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Sharpe's Assassin
France · Occupation of Paris, 1815
In the Allied occupation of Paris, Sharpe hunts a French assassin through a city at war with itself.
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Sharpe's Storm
Southern France, winter 1813
Sharpe and his riflemen face the Allied invasion of southern France and a gathering storm in the Pyrenean foothills.
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Sharpe's Devil
Chile & Valdivia, 1820–1821
Post-war Sharpe sails to Chile with Lord Cochrane for a last, ghostly encounter with Napoleon from St Helena.
Buy on Amazon →“I wrote Sharpe’s Eagle because I wanted to read a book about a soldier fighting with Wellington, and nobody had written one.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels
What are the Bernard Cornwell Sharpe books?
The Sharpe series is a sequence of 24 historical novels by Bernard Cornwell following Richard Sharpe, a British soldier who rises from private to lieutenant colonel during the Napoleonic Wars. The series covers campaigns from India in 1799 through to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and beyond.
What is the best Bernard Cornwell Sharpe book to start with?
Most readers start with Sharpe's Eagle (1981), the first published novel, which introduces Sharpe already an officer in Spain during the Peninsular War. For chronological order, start with Sharpe's Tiger (1997) set in India in 1799.
How many Sharpe books are there by Bernard Cornwell?
Bernard Cornwell has written 24 Sharpe novels plus several short stories. The most recent full novel is Sharpe's Storm (2024).
Are the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell historically accurate?
Cornwell bases every novel on real battles and campaigns. Each book includes an Author's Note explaining what he invented and what is historically accurate. The battles, commanders and military details are carefully researched.
What order should I read the Bernard Cornwell Sharpe books?
You can read in publication order starting with Sharpe's Eagle (1981) or chronological order starting with Sharpe's Tiger (1799 setting). Publication order is recommended for new readers as Cornwell wrote the Peninsular books first and the India prequels later.
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