Sharpe’s Prey

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In Sharpe's Rifles it was with Hagman that Sharpe made his first inroads toward connecting with his new command. He stopped to speak with the former poacher and helped him through a boggy ground. Sharpe is both a romantic and a womanizer. In Sharpe's Rifles, Harper notes that "He'll fall in love with anything in a petticoat. I've seen his type before. Got the sense of a half-witted sheep when it comes to women." Gazetted by General Wellesley as a captain after saving the Regimental Colour of the South Essex Battalion at Valdelacasa. In the novels Cooper first appeared in Sharpe's Prey and was one of the original men of Major Dunnett participating in the Battle of Copenhagen alongside Harper, and Harris. He made an appearance in Sharpe's Rifles and on the retreat to Corunna. Deliberately triggering the massive explosion that destroyed the fortress of Almeida (usually attributed to accident, combined with careless British handling of their munitions store);

In subsequent campaigns in Flanders and India, Hakeswill torments Sharpe, until in 1799 he conspires with Captain Charles Morris to have Sharpe flogged to death ( Sharpe's Tiger). He is mentioned in passing in the subsequent novels as having returned to England and resumed his political activities, in particular helping to implement the new income tax, and becomes "Commissioner of the Excise". After making their way to Portugal, and taking part in the Battle of the Douro, Sharpe and his surviving 30 riflemen are attached to the Light Company of the South Essex Regiment (a fictional regiment) as part of Wellesley's Peninsula Army. Some of the men Sharpe commands in the South Essex are: The year is 1807; Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is planning to leave the army. Against his better judgment, he is persuaded to accompany the Hon John Lavisser to Copenhagen in what is essentially an act of political skulduggery: they are to deliver a bribe and (hopefully) avert a war. But with the French ensuring that Europe remains at boiling point, Sharpe finds himself protecting his charge against French agents and struggling to ensure that the Danish battle fleet is not used to replace every French ship destroyed at Trafalgar. Sharpe is a character we know well and like, and his customary characteristics (tenacity, bloody-mindedness) are well to the fore here, but, as always, the other characters are equally strikingly drawn: Lavisser is a splendidly complex figure, as are several of Sharpe's nemeses. But it's that wonderfully adroit orchestration of action and plot that keeps the pulse racing, with the bombardment of Copenhagen and the massive bloodshed resulting in a truly impressive set piece: Sharpe, from his vantage point on the dune, could see the smoke wreathing the wall. The city's copper spires and red roofs showed above the churning cloud. A dozen houses were burning there, fired by the Danish shells that hissed across the canal. Three windmills had their sales tethered against the blustering wind that blew the smoke westwards and fretted the moored fleet to the north of Copenhagen.Sharpe is described as "brilliant but wayward" in Sharpe's Sword, and he is portrayed by the author as a "loose cannon". He becomes a highly skilled and experienced leader of light troops. In contrast to the honourable Horatio Hornblower, the inspiration for the series, Sharpe is a rogue, an unabashed thief and murderer who has no qualms about killing a bitter enemy when the opportunity arises. However, he is protective of women in general and has a number of lovers over the course of his life. Cornwell published the non-fiction book Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles in September 2014, timely for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. [2] Rifleman Ned Tarrant is one of the original riflemen who was involved in the retreat to Corunna in Sharpe's Rifles though he was not mentioned in the novel. Rifleman Tarrant was mentioned in Sharpe's Havoc where he was wounded in action after the French victory at Oporto. He was shot in the hip and was unable to walk. Sharpe made the decision to leave him behind believing Tarrant would slow them down. [38] Tarrant's fate is unknown either being killed or captured by the enemy or left to die. Ned Tarrant was described as being a trouble maker and a sullen man from Hertfordshire who never lost a chance to become drunk or vicious, but when he was sober he was a good marksmen who did not lose his head in battle. [39] It is noted that Tarrent was the ring leader of the troublemakers which included Sims, Williamson, Donnelly, Cresacre, Gataker and once upon a time Harper. Along with Sharpe he is one of the principal protagonists of the series and appears in the majority of the books.

After spending the rest of the day at the British-allied town, Berkeley leads a night assault on the French fort. Simmerson, however, who trades with the French, warns them they are coming. Berkeley, leading from the front, is killed almost immediately with Sharpe at his side.Rifleman Sims appeared in Sharpe's Rifles where he accompanied Sharpe in the retreat to Corunna. He fought in the First Battle of Oporto [33] and also partook in the Second Battle of Oporto which he survived. Sims fought with Sharpe in the Battle at Talavera in Sharpe's Eagle where he was asked to keep reloading for Hagman indicating that he may have been one of the weakest shots of Sharpe's rifleman. [15] He also participated in the destruction of Almeida but wasn't mentioned in Sharpe's Gold and also partook in Sharpe's Escape during the battle of Bussaco. He partook in the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro in and went to fight with Sharpe in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and the Siege of Badajoz. He went on to fight in the Battle of Salamanca in Sharpe's Sword but he wasn't mentioned. Sims went onto fight alongside Sharpe in Sharpe's Enemy but he wasn't mentioned at all. Sims wasn't mentioned in Sharpe's Honour, Regiment, Christmas, Siege, Revenge, or Waterloo. Either Sims did not fight at Waterloo or he was killed prior to the battle. Sims was often referred to in the novels as the usual grumbler and a troublemaker along with his friends Williamson, Tarrant, Cresacre, Donnelly, Gataker and once upon a time Harper.

Destroying the Army of Deserters and taking their leader "Marshal Pot-au-Feu" Deron captive (Cornwell notes that the historic Deserters' Army was finally destroyed by the French, though they did hand British deserters over, as shown in the novel); Sharpe is frequently employed (with or without his men) to carry out small scale secret operations for Hogan – for example, destroying a bridge in Sharpe's Eagle, capturing a renegade exploring officer in Sharpe's Havoc, retrieving treasure vital to the war effort in Sharpe's Gold, retrieving hostages in Sharpe's Enemy and uncovering or capturing French spies in Sharpe's Battle, Sharpe's Sword and Sharpe's Siege. Leroy remains with the South Essex throughout his military career, rising steadily in ranks through the Peninsular Campaign. He is present at the loss of the regiment's colours at the fictional engagement at Torrecastro and at the subsequent capture of a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Talavera in 1809. (Sharpe's Eagle), is severely injured in the breach at Siege of Badajoz in 1812, ( Sharpe's Company), but recovers to take command of the regiment after the death of Colonel Windham shortly before the Battle of Salamanca in the same year ( Sharpe's Sword). He dies in action at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, leading the assault on the village of Gamarra-Mayor. Norwegian novelist Jacobsen folds a quietly powerful coming-of-age story into a rendition of daily life on one of Norway’s rural islands a hundred years ago in a novel that was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.

Price appears in the TV adaptation Sharpe's Company, played by Scott Cleverdon. He is given a similar role to that in the book but he is shot and apparently killed by Sergeant Hakeswill during the storming of Badajoz while trying to protect Teresa, a fate that befell Captain Knowles in the book. Captain Lennox is an officer of the South Essex Light Company in Sharpe's Eagle. Lennox was a Scotsman, who retired after returning from India. But after losing his wife, and because a pension on half pay wasn't enough, he rejoined the army as an officer of the South Essex then being raised by Sir Henry Simmerson. Prior to the Battle of Waterloo, Sharpe is appointed aide to the Prince of Orange, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Disgusted by the Prince's dangerous incompetence during the course of the battle, Sharpe deserts his post (making an attempt on the prince's life afterwards), but comes to the aid of his old regiment, steadying the line and preventing a French breakthrough. Wellesley then gives him command of the unit for the remainder of the battle ( Sharpe's Waterloo).

He served a chief midwife for Ramona when she gave birth to Harper's son in Sharpe's Honour. He was calm and cool throughout, but admitted he'd never helped a human give birth before. Rifleman Cameron first appeared in Sharpe's Rifles where he accompanied Sharpe in the retreat to Corunna where he was wounded. [1] He fought in the First Battle of Oporto and also partook in the Second Battle of Oporto which he survived. Cameron fought with Sharpe in the Battle at Talavera although he was not mentioned in Sharpe's Eagle. He also participated in the destruction of Almeida but was not mentioned in Sharpe's Gold and also partook in Sharpe's Escape during the battle of Bussaco. He partook in the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro in and went to fight with Sharpe in the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and the siege of Badajoz. He went on to fight in the Battle of Salamanca in Sharpe's Sword and alongside Sharpe in Sharpe's Enemy, but was not mentioned. with In battle Cameron partnered fellow rifleman and friend Rifleman Harvey. William Dodd appears in the novels set in India near the start of Sharpe's army career. Although he is based on a real historical figure, his involvement in the Sharpe novels is entirely fictional. Dodd appears in the 2006 television revival Sharpe's Challenge, portrayed by Toby Stephens. He also appears in the Simon Scarrow novel The Generals as the actual historical character. Saving Arthur Wellesley's life at the Battle of Assaye (Wellesley was unhorsed and forced to defend himself from Maratha artillerymen for a few crucial moments; Cornwell notes that if any soldier or officer had saved his life during this fight, he would almost certainly have rewarded him with a promotion);Rifleman Harris is a fictional character from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of novels, an alcoholic scholar who enlisted because of debt. Obadiah Hakeswill is a fictional character who appears in several of the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell. General Wellesley dispatches the South Essex, alongside Sharpe's Riflemen and the engineers of Major Hogan, to blow up the bridge at Valdelacasa, so as to protect the army's flank as they march. In the first run of the television adaptations, Simmerson, played by Michael Cochrane, appears in Sharpe's Eagle (1993), Sharpe's Sword (1995) and Sharpe's Regiment (1996). His appearances in Eagle and Regiment remain faithful to the novel versions, while his appearance in Sword is a creation of the show's writers, since that story was largely re-vamped from the novel. Retrieving and restoring the Imperial Family's treasure (in his note, Cornwell notes that several chests of personal belongings and riches did get lost in the chaos of the French defeat of 1814, but how this happened and their final fate are unknown)