Lucille Castineau
The Peace Sharpe Never Expected to Find
Who Is Lucille?
Lucille Castineau is a French widow living on a farm in Normandy. Her husband was killed serving in Napoleon’s army. She is intelligent, calm, deeply good, and the opposite of the war that has defined Sharpe’s entire life. Where Teresa was fire and war, Lucille is earth and peace. She represents the first real home Sharpe has ever known.
First Meeting
Sharpe arrives at Lucille’s farm in Normandy in Sharpe’s Revenge. He is wounded, hunted by both French and British authorities (framed by Ducos for theft), and has lost everything: his wife Jane has left him, his money is gone, his reputation is destroyed. Lucille shelters him. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define the rest of his life.
What She Represents
Lucille gives Sharpe something he has never had: a home, a place where he belongs, a person who accepts him completely. She never tries to change him or make him into a gentleman. She never resents his past or his violence. She simply offers him peace, and he takes it, surprised that such a thing was possible for a man like him.
Their Children
Sharpe and Lucille have a son, Patrick-Henri, named after Patrick Harper. The boy grows up on the Normandy farm and eventually becomes a French cavalry officer, much to his father’s chagrin. The detail is one of Cornwell’s most affectionate: the son of a British rifleman riding as a French hussar.
How She Differs from Teresa and Jane
Teresa was passion and war: a guerrilla fighter who matched Sharpe in courage and ferocity. Their love was intense but shaped by the battlefield. Jane Gibbons was ambition and betrayal: a young woman who wanted the glamour of a war hero but not the reality of the man. Lucille is peace and permanence. She asks nothing of Sharpe except that he come home. It is the simplest of her gifts and the most profound.
TV Portrayal
Lucille is played by Cecile Paoli in the ITV television series, appearing in Sharpe’s Revenge, Sharpe’s Waterloo, and Sharpe’s Peril. Paoli brings a quiet warmth to the role that captures Lucille’s essential quality: the calm centre that holds Sharpe’s world together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lucille in Sharpe?
Lucille Castineau is a French widow living on a farm in Normandy. She becomes Sharpe's enduring companion after the wars.
Does Sharpe end up with Lucille?
Yes. Sharpe settles with Lucille on her farm in Normandy. She is still with him at the end of Sharpe's Devil.
Where do Sharpe and Lucille live?
On Lucille's family farm in Normandy, France. They have a son, Patrick-Henri, named after Harper.