Sharpe Books in Order
Bernard Cornwell has written 27 Sharpe books, published between 1981 and 2025: 26 in the Sharpe series and 1 related title. The first book is Sharpe's Gold (1981) and the newest main-line book is Sharpe's Storm (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 27
- Published
- 1981–2025
- Confirmed
- 27 of 27 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,845 in 23 of 27 books
- Reading time
- 114–171 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,845 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 27 titles with a page count on record.
Richard Sharpe is a British soldier of the Napoleonic and Peninsular wars, and Bernard Cornwell's novels follow Sharpe through those campaigns. The catalogue lists 27 books, the earliest being Sharpe's Eagle and Sharpe's Gold, both 1981, and the newest Sharpe's Storm in 2025. Military history drives the series, and a non-fiction companion shelf sits beside the novels.
How many Sharpe books are there?
Sharpe has 27 books, released between 1981 and 2025. 26 of them belong to the Sharpe series, and 1 related title sit outside it: non-fiction.
Sharpe Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 27 Sharpe 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
- 419833203/4
- 519843523/4
- 619853203/4
- 719863043/4
- 819873203/4
- 919883043/4
- 1019893523/4
- 1119903843/4
- 1219923223/4
- 1319941043/4
- 1419953573/4
- 151997–3/4
- 1619983043/4
- 171999633/4
- 1819994003/4
- 1920002933/4
- 202001–3/4
- 2120033363/4
- 2220043683/4
- 2320063373/4
- 2420071213/4
- 252021–3/4
- 2620243523/4
- 272025–3/4
Sharpe Books in Chronological Order
In story order, Sharpe's Tiger comes first and Sharpe's Devil comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 26 books with a recorded story position run in that sequence below.
- 16Sharpe's Tiger1997 · confirmed 3/41997–3/4
- 17Sharpe's Triumph1998 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/419983043/4
- 19Sharpe's Fortress1999 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/419994003/4
- 20Sharpe's Trafalgar2000 · 293 pages · confirmed 3/420002933/4
- 21Sharpe's Prey2001 · confirmed 3/42001–3/4
- 9Sharpe's Rifles1988 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/419883043/4
- 22Sharpe's Havoc2003 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/420033363/4
- 2Sharpe's Eagle1981 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/419812883/4
- 1Sharpe's Gold1981 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/419812563/4
- 23Sharpe's Escape2004 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/420043683/4
- 24Sharpe's Fury2006 · 337 pages · confirmed 3/420063373/4
- 15Sharpe's Battle1995 · 357 pages · confirmed 3/419953573/4
- 3Sharpe's Company1982 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/419822883/4
- 26Sharpe's Command2024 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/420243523/4
- 4Sharpe's Sword1983 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/419833203/4
- 18Sharpe's Skirmish1999 · 63 pages · confirmed 3/41999633/4
- 5Sharpe's Enemy1984 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/419843523/4
- 6Sharpe's Honor1985 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/419853203/4
- 7Sharpe's Regiment1986 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/419863043/4
- 13Sharpe's Christmas1994 · 104 pages · confirmed 3/419941043/4
- 27Sharpe's Storm2025 · confirmed 3/42025–3/4
- 8Sharpe's Siege1987 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/419873203/4
- 10Sharpe's Revenge1989 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/419893523/4
- 11Sharpe's Waterloo1990 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/419903843/4
- 25Sharpe’s Assassin2021 · confirmed 3/42021–3/4
- 12Sharpe's Devil1992 · 322 pages · confirmed 3/419923223/4
Do you have to read Sharpe books in order?
You should read the Sharpe series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 1 related title (non-fiction) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each Sharpe book also stands alone.
What order should you read Sharpe books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Sharpe's Gold (1981), the earliest published book in the Sharpe series. After it come Sharpe's Eagle (1981), Sharpe's Company (1982), Sharpe's Sword (1983) and Sharpe's Enemy (1984); the numbered table above continues from there. In the chronological order, Sharpe's Tiger comes first.
What is the newest Sharpe book?
Sharpe's Storm (2025) is the newest book in the Sharpe series.
Is there a new Sharpe book coming?
No next Sharpe book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Sharpe at a glance
- Still running
- Sharpe is still running, with a main-line title published as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Sharpe books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 6,845 pages across the 23 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 320 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Sharpe books, 10 of 27, were published in the 1980s.
What the Sharpe books are about
24 of the 27 Sharpe books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: military history is tagged on 21 of 24. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Military history 21 of 24 books
- Historical fiction 18 of 24 books
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 13 of 24 books
- Peninsular War, 1807-1814 9 of 24 books
- History 8 of 24 books
- British 6 of 24 books
- History, Military 5 of 24 books
- Great Britain in fiction 4 of 24 books
- War & military 4 of 24 books
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 in fiction 3 of 24 books
- Sieges 3 of 24 books
More books by Bernard Cornwell
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Bernard Cornwell books in order 67 books