In 1799, the British Army is fighting its way through India in an attempt to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive his French allies out. Posing as a deserter, the young and illiterate private Richard Sharpe must penetrate into the Tippoo's city and make contact with a Scottish spy being held prisoner there. Success will mean winning his sergeant stripes; failure, being turned over to the Tippoo's brutal executioners--or his...

In the winter of 1811 the war seemed lost. All Spain has fallen to the French, except for Cadiz which is now the Spanish capital and is under siege. Wellington and his British army are in Portugal, waiting for spring to spark the war to life again. Richard Sharpe and his company are part of a small expeditionary force sent to break a bridge across the River Guadiana. What begins as a brilliant piece of soldiering turns into disaster, thanks to the...

"Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe is a man with a reputation. Born in the gutter, raised a foundling, he joined the army twenty-one years ago, and it's been his home ever since. He's a loose cannon, but his unconventional methods make him a valuable weapon. So when, the dust still settling after the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington needs a favour, he turns to Sharpe. For Wellington knows that the end of one war is only the beginning of another....

British regimental quartermaster--and swashbuckling hero--Richard Sharpe finds himself at odds with Captain John Lavisser, a traitor for the French, during an 1807 campaign by the British to destroy the Danish Navy before the French can add it to their fleet.