List of Sharpe series characters
List of Sharpe series characters
Main page

List of Sharpe series characters

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
List of Sharpe series characters

Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.

Director Tom Clegg filmed the television series Sharpe based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe. The series originally ran from 1993 to 1997. In 2006, ITV premiered Sharpe's Challenge, a two-part adventure loosely based on his time in India, with Sean Bean continuing his role as Sharpe.

In both the novels and television series, Sharpe encountered many characters, some real and some fictional. Below are some of the characters mentioned in the novels by Bernard Cornwell and the television series directed by Tom Clegg.

Richard Sharpe first appears in Sharpe's Tiger as a private in the 33rd Regiment of Foot. He later earns the rank of Sergeant by the end of the book. He soon gains promotion to Ensign in the 74th Regiment but is then transferred to the newly formed 95th Rifles as a second lieutenant during Sharpe's Trafalgar. He is gradually promoted through the ranks, finally becoming a lieutenant colonel in Sharpe's Waterloo.

The stories dramatise Sharpe's struggle for acceptance and respect from his fellow officers and from the men he commands. Sharpe was born a guttersnipe in the rookeries of London but grew up in Yorkshire. He joined the army at an early age to avoid the penalty of crime.

He is a good soldier and his abilities resulted in him being commissioned as an officer on the battlefield. He overcomes class in an army where an officer's rank is often bought. Unlike many of the officers with whom he serves, Sharpe is an experienced soldier.

Sharpe is described as "brilliant but wayward" in Sharpe's Sword, and is portrayed by the author as a "loose cannon". A highly skilled leader of light troops, he takes part in a range of historical events during the Napoleonic Wars and other conflicts, including the Battle of Waterloo. The earliest books chronologically (they were published in non-chronological order) are set in India, and chronicle Sharpe's years in the ranks and as an ensign. He is known as a dangerous man to have as an enemy; he is a skilled marksman and grows to be a good swordsman. In most of the novels he is a Rifle Officer, armed with a 1796 pattern heavy cavalry sword and Baker rifle, although by Sharpe's Waterloo he has also acquired a pistol.

Sharpe's first command happened by misfortune in Sharpe's Rifles. He found himself in command of fifty riflemen after Sharpe's battalion, acting as rearguard to the army, are cut down by a squadron of French regular cavalry. The small band of surviving riflemen (from the 95th Rifles) join with Spanish Major Don Blas Vivar, not realizing at first that he has his own agenda. They try to stir the Spanish in the city of Santiago de Compostela to fight for the cause of Spain against Napoleon.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.