The Last Kingdom
historical fiction
Series · historical fiction
Sharpe
The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell has 27 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Sharpe's Eagle (1981).
- Books
- 24 novels + 3 novellas
- First published
- 1981
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Sharpe's Eagle (1981) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Sharpe's Eagle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Eagle - Book 2:
Sharpe's Gold
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Gold - Book 3:
Sharpe's Company
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Company - Book 4:
Sharpe's Sword
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Sword - Book 5:
Sharpe's Enemy
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Enemy - Book 6:
Sharpe's Honour
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Honour - Book 7:
Sharpe's Regiment
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Regiment - Book 8:
Sharpe's Siege
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Siege - Book 9:
Sharpe's Rifles
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Rifles - Book 10:
Sharpe's Revenge
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Revenge - Book 11:
Sharpe's Waterloo
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Waterloo - Book 12:
Sharpe's Devil
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Devil - Book 13:
Sharpe's Ransom
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Ransom - Book 14:
Sharpe's Christmas
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Christmas - Book 15:
Sharpe's Battle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Battle - Book 16:
Sharpe's Tiger
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Tiger - Book 17:
Sharpe's Triumph
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Triumph - Book 18:
Sharpe's Fortress
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Fortress - Book 19:
Sharpe's Skirmish
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Skirmish - Book 20:
Sharpe's Trafalgar
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Trafalgar - Book 21:
Sharpe's Prey
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Prey - Book 22:
Sharpe's Havoc
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Havoc - Book 23:
Sharpe's Escape
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Escape - Book 24:
Sharpe's Fury
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Fury - Book 25:
Sharpe's Assassin
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Assassin - Book 26:
Sharpe's Command
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Command - Book 27:
Sharpe's Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Storm
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Sharpe's Tiger
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Tiger - Book 2:
Sharpe's Triumph
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Triumph - Book 3:
Sharpe's Fortress
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Fortress - Book 4:
Sharpe's Trafalgar
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Trafalgar - Book 5:
Sharpe's Prey
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Prey - Book 6:
Sharpe's Rifles
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Rifles - Book 7:
Sharpe's Havoc
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Havoc - Book 8:
Sharpe's Eagle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Eagle - Book 9:
Sharpe's Gold
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Gold - Book 10:
Sharpe's Escape
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Escape - Book 11:
Sharpe's Fury
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Fury - Book 12:
Sharpe's Battle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Battle - Book 13:
Sharpe's Company
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Company - Book 14:
Sharpe's Command
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Command - Book 15:
Sharpe's Sword
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Sword - Book 16:
Sharpe's Skirmish
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Skirmish - Book 17:
Sharpe's Enemy
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Enemy - Book 18:
Sharpe's Honour
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Honour - Book 19:
Sharpe's Regiment
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Regiment - Book 20:
Sharpe's Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Storm - Book 21:
Sharpe's Christmas
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Christmas - Book 22:
Sharpe's Siege
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Siege - Book 23:
Sharpe's Revenge
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Revenge - Book 24:
Sharpe's Waterloo
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Waterloo - Book 25:
Sharpe's Assassin
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Assassin - Book 26:
Sharpe's Ransom
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Ransom - Book 27:
Sharpe's Devil
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sharpe's Devil
About the Sharpe series
Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels follow Richard Sharpe, a foundling raised in a London workhouse who enlists as a private soldier and — against every rule of the Georgian army — is commissioned into the officer ranks after saving the Duke of Wellington's life in India. From the storming of Seringapatam to the retreat to Corunna, the breaches of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo, the charge at Salamanca, and finally the field of Waterloo itself, Sharpe fights his way across two decades of the Napoleonic Wars with a stolen French cavalry sword, a Baker rifle, and a loyalty to his men that his aristocratic superiors rarely extend to him.
The appeal is Cornwell's trademark: meticulously researched battle sequences told from ground level, a working-class hero who never stops resenting the class system he has to fight inside, and a huge, familiar supporting cast — chiefly Sergeant Patrick Harper, his Irish best friend and the closest thing the series has to a second lead. Readers come for the sieges and set-piece battles and stay for Sharpe and Harper's friendship, which survives court-martials, betrayals, and thirty-odd years of campaigning.
Cornwell wrote the books wildly out of chronological order across four decades, so the series is really two overlapping timelines: the original Peninsular War novels he wrote first in the 1980s, and the India and early-career prequels he added from 1997 onward, plus three late additions (2021-2025) that finally close the gaps at the end of Sharpe's career. It's the defining series for readers who want Napoleonic-era military history rendered as pulse-quick adventure fiction, in the company of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels or George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman.
How to read this series
There's no single right answer, and Cornwell himself never insisted on one. Most new readers start with Sharpe's Eagle (1981), the first novel Cornwell wrote and published, which drops you into the Peninsular War at Talavera with Sharpe already an officer — or with Sharpe's Rifles (1988), often recommended as the most natural jumping-on point. Either works fine as a self-contained introduction.
The chronological (in-story) order instead opens with the India trilogy — Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph, Sharpe's Fortress — written much later (1997-1999) once Cornwell's style had matured; many longtime fans suggest reading these after a few of the core Peninsular novels rather than first, so you're already invested in Sharpe before meeting him as a young private. The three short stories — Sharpe's Skirmish, Sharpe's Ransom, and Sharpe's Christmas — are minor, optional interludes for completists and slot into the chronological timeline near the books they're set alongside. The three most recent novels, Sharpe's Assassin, Sharpe's Command, and Sharpe's Storm (2021-2025), fill in gaps late and mid-career respectively; publication order is the simplest way through the whole set.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Sharpe series?
24 full-length novels plus three short stories (Sharpe's Skirmish, Sharpe's Ransom, and Sharpe's Christmas), for 27 titles in total, published between 1981 and 2025.
What order should I read Sharpe in?
Publication order is the easiest path and is what most editions and booksellers list: start with Sharpe's Eagle (1981) or Sharpe's Rifles (1988). Series purists who want Sharpe's career told start-to-finish can instead read the chronological order, which opens with the India trilogy (Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph, Sharpe's Fortress) — though many recommend saving India for after a few of the core Peninsular War novels.
Is the Sharpe series finished?
No confirmed ending has been announced. Sharpe's Storm (2025) is the latest novel and several reviews speculated it could be Sharpe's last outing, but Bernard Cornwell has not announced the series is complete, and no new title is currently scheduled.
Do I need to read the three short stories?
No. Sharpe's Skirmish, Sharpe's Ransom, and Sharpe's Christmas are brief, self-contained interludes originally written for charity and newspaper serialisation. They're pleasant extras for completists but skippable without losing any of the main story.
Where do the newest books, Sharpe's Assassin and Sharpe's Command, fit in?
Both are late additions Cornwell wrote decades after the original run to fill gaps in Sharpe's career: Sharpe's Command (2023) is set in 1812, between Sharpe's Company and Sharpe's Sword, and Sharpe's Assassin (2021) picks up immediately after Sharpe's Waterloo in the Paris occupation of 1815. Sharpe's Storm (2025) sits between Sharpe's Regiment and Sharpe's Christmas, in November 1813.
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Reading order last verified .