Bernard Cornwell Books in Order
Bernard Cornwell has written 67 books, published between 1981 and 2025. The first book is Sharpe's Gold (1981) and the newest is Sharpe's Storm (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 67
- Published
- 1981–2025
- Confirmed
- 67 of 67 titles
- Pages on record
- 18,632 in 53 of 67 books
- Reading time
- 311–466 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 18,632 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 53 of 67 titles with a page count on record.
Bernard Cornwell is an English historical novelist, born on 23 February 1944, who has also written a history of the Waterloo campaign. The Richard Sharpe novels, about a rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars, are Cornwell's best-known work. The Saxon Stories run to thirteen novels about how England was unified. Cornwell's historical fiction draws mainly on English history across five series, alongside one series of contemporary thrillers, and the historical novels carry an end note comparing the story to the historical record. The catalogue lists 67 books from 1981, when Sharpe's Gold appeared, to Sharpe's Storm (2025).
How many Bernard Cornwell books are there?
Bernard Cornwell has 67 books, released between 1981 and 2025. They include 7 separate series.
Bernard Cornwell Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 67 Bernard Cornwell books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119812563/4
- 219812883/4
- 319822883/4
- 419835443/4
- 51983–3/4
- 619833203/4
- 719843523/4
- 819853203/4
- 919863523/4
- 1019863043/4
- 1119874853/4
- 1219873203/4
- 1319883523/4
- 1419883043/4
- 1519893173/4
- 1619893523/4
- 1719904003/4
- 1819903843/4
- 1919914803/4
- 2019923113/4
- 2119923223/4
- 2219934023/4
- 2319944123/4
- 2419941043/4
- 2519954333/4
- 2619954153/4
- 2719953573/4
- 2819963973/4
- 291996–3/4
- 3019974363/4
- 311997–3/4
- 3219983043/4
- 3319994483/4
- 341999633/4
- 3519994003/4
- 362000–3/4
- 3720002933/4
- 3820013843/4
- 392001–3/4
- 4020024163/4
- 4120034153/4
- 4220033363/4
- 4320043513/4
- 4420043683/4
- 4520053843/4
- 4620063173/4
- 4720063373/4
- 4820071213/4
- 4920073203/4
- 5020085123/4
- 512009–3/4
- 5220104963/4
- 5320113573/4
- 542012–3/4
- 552013–3/4
- 562014–3/4
- 5720153523/4
- 5820152983/4
- 5920162843/4
- 6020173843/4
- 6120183333/4
- 622019–3/4
- 632020–3/4
- 642021–3/4
- 652023–3/4
- 6620243523/4
- 672025–3/4
Bernard Cornwell characters in order
Each character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Sharpe books in order 27 books
- Saxon Chronicles books in order 14 books
Bernard Cornwell books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Warrior Chronicles / Saxon Stories in order
14 books- 1. The Last Kingdom
- 2. The Pale Horseman
- 3. Lords of the North
- 4. Sword Song
- 5. The Burning Land
- 6. Death of Kings
- 7. The Pagan Lord
- 8. The Empty Throne
- 9. Warriors of the Storm
- 10. The Flame Bearer
- 11. War of the Wolf
- 12. Sword of Kings
- and 2 more in the table above
Bernard Cornwell Standalone Novels
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Sailing Thrillers in order
5 booksStarbuck Chronicles in order
4 books- 1. Rebel
- 2. Copperhead
- 3. Battle Flag
- 4. The Bloody Ground
Grail Quest in order
4 books- 1. Harlequin / The Archer's Tale
- 2. Vagabond
- 3. Heretic
- 4. 1356
Crowning Mercy Series in order
3 booksWarlord Chronicles / The Arthur in order
3 books- 1. The Winter King
- 2. Enemy of God
- 3. Excalibur
Bernard Cornwell Non-Fiction
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Bernard Cornwell Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Bernard Cornwell books run from Sharpe's Gold (1981) to Sharpe's Storm (2025), the sequence in the table above. The Sharpe series also has a separate in-universe order on record: Sharpe books in chronological order. No other Bernard Cornwell story order is on record.
Do you have to read Bernard Cornwell books in order?
You only need to read Bernard Cornwell books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Bernard Cornwell books in?
Read Bernard Cornwell one series at a time, each in its own publication order: Sharpe starts with Sharpe's Gold (1981) and Saxon Chronicles starts with The Last Kingdom (2004). The earliest catalogued title overall is Sharpe's Gold (1981).
What is the newest Bernard Cornwell book?
Sharpe's Storm (2025) is the newest Bernard Cornwell book released so far.
Is there a new Bernard Cornwell book coming?
No next Bernard Cornwell book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Bernard Cornwell at a glance
- Still publishing
- Bernard Cornwell published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Bernard Cornwell books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 18,632 pages across the 53 of 67 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Bernard Cornwell books, 19 of 67, were published in the 1990s.
What the Bernard Cornwell books are about
60 of the 67 Bernard Cornwell books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: historical fiction is tagged on 37 of 60. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Historical fiction 37 of 60 books
- History 35 of 60 books
- Military history 23 of 60 books
- Richard Sharpe (Fictitious character) 19 of 60 books
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 13 of 60 books
- Great Britain 9 of 60 books
- Peninsular War, 1807-1814 9 of 60 books
- British 7 of 60 books
- Great Britain in fiction 7 of 60 books
- War & military 7 of 60 books
- History, Military 6 of 60 books