Lieutenant Harry Price
The Inveterate Gambler · Sharpe’s Most Cheerful Officer
Who Is Price?
Harry Price is from Hampshire, youngest son of a shipwright. He is an inveterate gambler, a self-confessed seducer of women, cheerful in the face of death, and completely unreliable with money. Sharpe likes him despite himself. Where d’Alembord is steady and Harper is solid, Price is the wild card: always in debt, always optimistic, always somehow surviving.
First Appearance
Price first appears in Sharpe’s Company at Badajoz. In the ITV television version he is shot by Hakeswill during the storming, though his fate in the novel at Badajoz is different. This novel-vs-TV divergence is one of the more notable differences between the two versions of the character.
The Gambling
Price’s gambling is a running thread through his appearances. He is always in debt and always confident his luck is about to turn. It is both his weakness and his charm: his optimism in the face of impossible odds applies as much to the card table as to the battlefield. Harper disapproves. Sharpe is amused. Price carries on regardless.
At Waterloo
By Sharpe’s Waterloo, Price is a lieutenant in the Prince of Wales Own Volunteers. His concern for his brother, caught up in the Prince of Orange’s disastrous orders that send infantry into line when they should be in square, gives him one of his most human moments in the series. It is the one time we see Price genuinely afraid, not for himself but for family. He survives the battle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Harry Price in Sharpe?
A lieutenant in the South Essex. Gambler, optimist, youngest son of a shipwright from Hampshire.
Does Price survive Waterloo?
Yes. He survives as an officer in the Prince of Wales Own Volunteers.
What happens to Price in Sharpe's Company?
He first appears at Badajoz. In the TV version he is shot by Hakeswill; the novel version differs.