Wikipedia:WikiProject Napoleonic Fiction/Richard Sharpe Story Plots

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[edit] Sharpe

Firstly, we need to know what periods we are dealing with.

The Richard Sharpe series starts in 1799 and finishes in 1821 in which time, not only does he get promoted from a Private to a Lieutenant Colonel, he also has adventures in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, France, England and South America as well as two of the books being based on ships.

[edit] TV Specials

The series has also been broadcasted on Television with the actor Sean Bean playing Sharpe. In the broadcast version, there are a few films which are not dramatized from the books although the rest of the books have been dramatized. The films which fall into this category are:

  • Sharpe's Justice - 1814

Sharpe returns to England in the peace between the newly reinstated French regime and the British. He is ordered to command the milita of Yorkshire, Sharpe's hometown. There, with the help of Lady Ann, he uncovers a plot to sabotage cotton mills masterminded by a competitive miller who wants his opponent's mills for himself. Sharpe almost looses his commission when he joins the rebellion headed by his brother (unbeknown to Sharpe), Matt Trueman. Sharpe encounters his wife, Jane, who was having an affair with Lord John Rossendale and continues his vow to get his money back (Rossendale and Jane stole it). Sharpe foils the plotters and remakes his reputation.

  • Sharpe's Mission 1813
  • Sharpe's Challenge - 1817

Sharpe is recalled from retirement in Normandy and ordered to London where he is called to a meeting with the Duke of Wellington who tries to convince Sharpe to head off to India where the Maharattas have started their rebellion again. Sharpe's mission is to find a British spy who disappeared whilst posing as a horse trader. Sharpe refuses at first but then agrees when he discovers that Patrick Harper, Sharpe's dear friend, is that spy. On reaching India, Sharpe finds Harper involved in the opposition movement against the rebellion.

[edit] The Books

These are books before the period this wikiproject is interested in but are useful anyway

  • Sharpe's Tiger: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799

This book tells the story of Richard Sharpe as a private in the ranks of the Havercakes or 33rd Regiment of Foot . He travels to India under the command of Arthur Wellesly, 1st Duke of Wellington (although he was not a Duke at this point). Not only does the book recount Sharpe's first proper fight, it also sees him being flogged but saved by Wellesly and sent on a mission in Seringapatam. Sharpe is sent to save a Colonel who was captured and, during the panic of the siege, he kills the Tipu Sultan and steals his riches. He also encounters man-eating tigers and jettis, professional strong-men who take pride in hammering nails into men's brains and wringing their necks. This is Sharpe's first step on the way to glory as he becomes a Sergeant.

  • Sharpe's Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803

This is definitely Sharpe's greatest book/triumph although throughout the next few books, Sharpe experiances the competitivness amongst the officers as they try to get themselves promoted. During the Battle of Assaye he got appointed as Arthur Wellesly's aide de camp because the previous one got decapitated by a cannonball whilst crossing a river. As he rode next to Wellesly, he suddenly noticed that Wellesly's horse had been speared and that he had been thrown from it. Sharpe dismounted and fought off the Indians. After the battle, Wellesly thanked him with a commission and an inscribed telescope.

  • Sharpe's Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803

During his time as a young officer in the 74th regiment, Sharpe is involved in two of the final stages of the Maharatta Wars (or so people thought), the battle of Argaum and the siege of the mountain fortress Gawilghur. It was supposed to be impregniable but Sharpe breached it after finding the fortress' one weakness. Sharpe also encounters William Dodd, former Lieutenant in the British army but deserted after being charged with murder. Dodd joins the Maharattas in their mountain haven, confident that the British army will never breach the walls and that whoever rules the fortress, rules India, and, towards the end of the book, comes face to face with the Ensign Sharpe.

This is the start of the Napoleonic Series

  • Sharpe's Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, October 1805
  • Sharpe's Prey: the Siege of Copenhagen 1807
  • Sharpe's Rifles: Richard Sharpe and the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809
  • Sharpe's Havoc: Richard Sharpe and the campaign in northern Portugal, Spring 1809
  • Sharpe's Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809
  • Sharpe's Gold: Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810
  • Sharpe's Escape: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Busaco, 1810
  • Sharpe's Battle: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, May 1811
  • Sharpe's Company: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Badajoz, January to April 1812
  • Sharpe's Sword: Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign, June and July 1812
  • Sharpe's Skirmish Richard Sharpe and the defence of Tormes, August 1812
  • Sharpe's Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the Defence of Portugal, Christmas 1812
  • Sharpe's Honour: Richard Sharpe and the Vitoria Campaign, February to June 1813
  • Sharpe's Regiment: Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November, 1813
  • Sharpe's Siege: Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814
  • Sharpe's Revenge: Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814
  • Sharpe's Waterloo: Richard Sharpe and the Waterloo Campaign, 15 June to 18 June 1815
  • Sharpe's Devil: Richard Sharpe and the Emperor, 1820-21
  • Sharpe's Christmas: Richard Sharpe after the war