Reading Order
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Start with Sharpe's Gold and continue through all 25 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with Sharpe's Gold
Book 1 by Bernard Cornwell • Published 1981
Short of pay and supplies, Sharpe is sent on a desperate hunt for a cache of Spanish gold. Guerrillas, betrayal, and brutal terrain turn the mission into a test of whether he can keep his men alive and loyal.
Complete List
Sharpe reading order
Ends with Sharpe's Command
- 1
Book 1:Sharpe's Gold
Bernard Cornwell • 1981
Short of pay and supplies, Sharpe is sent on a desperate hunt for a cache of Spanish gold. Guerrillas, betrayal, and brutal terrain turn the mission into a test of whether he can keep his men alive and loyal.
- 2
Book 2:Sharpe's Eagle
Bernard Cornwell • 1981
After Talavera, Sharpe is ordered to seize an enemy battle standard—an eagle that could restore a disgraced regiment’s honor. Outnumbered and mistrusted, he fights for his reputation as much as for victory.
- 3
Book 3:Sharpe's Company
Bernard Cornwell • 1982
Assigned to the bloody assault on Badajoz, Sharpe leads his men into chaos where discipline breaks and vengeance takes over. An old enemy returns, and Sharpe must survive both the fortress and the madness inside it.
- 4
Book 4:Sharpe's Sword
Bernard Cornwell • 1983
On the eve of Salamanca, Sharpe is pulled into a dangerous web of spies and aristocrats. When battle erupts, his skill and nerve may not be enough to save him from betrayal and army politics.
- 5
Book 5:Sharpe's Enemy
Bernard Cornwell • 1984
Sharpe is sent into the border mountains to crush a brutal band of deserters who terrorize both sides. With old nemesis Obadiah Hakeswill in the mix, the mission becomes as personal as it is dangerous.
- 6
Book 6:Sharpe's Honor
Bernard Cornwell • 1985
As Wellington’s campaign races toward victory, Sharpe is caught between espionage, politics, and Pierre Ducos’s attempts to end him. Rescues, shifting loyalties, and a looming battle force him to gamble everything he’...
- 7
Book 7:Sharpe's Regiment
Bernard Cornwell • 1986
Back in England, Sharpe is ordered to recruit men for the South Essex and discovers the home front has its own predators. An enemy with bureaucratic power tries to destroy him without firing a shot.
- 8
Book 8:Sharpe's Siege
Bernard Cornwell • 1987
A covert raid on a French coastal fort goes catastrophically wrong, leaving Sharpe stranded and hunted. With only an unlikely ally beside him, he must outthink Pierre Ducos to get off the coast alive.
- 9
Book 9:Sharpe's Rifles
Bernard Cornwell
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 10
Book 10:Sharpe's Revenge
Bernard Cornwell • 1989
As the war ends, Sharpe chases Pierre Ducos into a Europe where Napoleon’s fall creates new opportunities for thieves. A missing treasure and unfinished grudges drag him into a dangerous peacetime pursuit.
- 11
Book 11:Sharpe's Waterloo
Bernard Cornwell • 1990
In June 1815, Sharpe marches into the Waterloo campaign and faces the fight that will decide Europe’s future. Amid chaos and smoke, he struggles to keep his men alive long enough to settle a score that won’t wait.
- 12
Book 12:Sharpe's Devil
Bernard Cornwell • 1992
Retired at last, Sharpe is pulled into a journey to Chile to find a vanished friend in a colony on the edge of revolt. Along the way he crosses paths with Napoleon and a legendary seafaring commander, and trouble foll...
- 13
Book 13:Sharpe's Ransom
Bernard Cornwell • 1994
In peacetime Normandy, Sharpe wants quiet days with Lucille—until old enemies arrive demanding gold they believe he stole. With his home threatened and no army to hide behind, he must outwit the raiders on familiar gr...
- 14
Book 14:Sharpe's Battle
Bernard Cornwell • 1995
At Fuentes de Oñoro, Sharpe finds the war reduced to street fighting and close-quarters slaughter. With rivals plotting and the French pressing hard, he has to hold his unit together in a battle that turns savage.
- 15
Book 15:Sharpe's Tiger
Bernard Cornwell
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 16
Book 16:Sharpe's Triumph
Bernard Cornwell • 1998
Still in India, Sharpe serves alongside Arthur Wellesley at a savage battle where courage and discipline are tested to breaking point. A dangerous rival officer and army politics threaten to ruin him just as he gets h...
- 17
Book 17:Sharpe's Skirmish
Bernard Cornwell • 1999
Recovering from wounds, Sharpe is given what should be easy duty guarding a remote fort and a fussy official. Then a French raid turns the assignment into a siege, and he must fight with whatever he can salvage.
- 18
Book 18:Sharpe's Fortress
Bernard Cornwell • 1999
Newly commissioned, Sharpe takes part in the assault on a hill fortress in India where ladders are too short and men are panicking. He has to improvise under fire to prove he belongs among officers.
- 19
Book 19:Sharpe's Trafalgar
Bernard Cornwell • 2000
On the voyage home from India, Sharpe is caught up with the fleet heading toward Trafalgar. Trapped aboard a warship, he faces naval combat, spies, and the chaos of a battle that will reshape Europe.
- 20
Book 20:Sharpe's Prey
Bernard Cornwell • 2001
In Copenhagen, Sharpe is drawn into a ruthless campaign meant to keep Denmark’s fleet out of Napoleon’s hands. Bombardment turns civilians into targets, and Sharpe must decide how far he’ll go to follow orders and sur...
- 21
Book 21:Sharpe's Havoc
Bernard Cornwell • 2003
Portugal, 1809: the French invade, and Sharpe marches with the British counterattack. Amid sabotage and shifting allies, he’s tasked with a mission that could expose a conspiracy—or leave him facing a firing squad.
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Book 22:Sharpe's Escape
Bernard Cornwell • 2004
In 1810 the French push into Portugal, and Sharpe faces the grinding retreat behind the Lines of Torres Vedras. With his men hungry and battered, he gambles on a plan that could save them—or trap them.
- 23
Book 23:Sharpe's Fury
Bernard Cornwell • 2006
Sent south into winter fighting, Sharpe finds himself in a risky operation that explodes into a hard-won battle on Spain’s coast. With allies unreliable and enemies everywhere, he has to choose between orders and oppo...
- 24
Book 24:Sharpe's Assassin
Bernard Cornwell • 2021
After Waterloo, Sharpe is sent into occupied Paris to track a murderous plot and recover a missing spy. Street fights replace set-piece battles, and he learns that victory doesn’t end danger—it just changes its shape.
- 25
Book 25:Sharpe's Command
Bernard Cornwell • 2024
Spain, 1812: Sharpe is sent on a reconnaissance mission that turns into an assault on a key French position guarding a vital bridge. With time running out and plans collapsing, he has to lead from the front to make it...
Quick Answers
Sharpe FAQ
What is the best order to read the Sharpe series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with Sharpe's Gold.
How many books are in the Sharpe series?
There are 25 books currently listed in the Sharpe series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Sharpe series?
New readers should start with Sharpe's Gold, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Sharpe series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears possibly ongoing and spans releases from 1981 to 2024.