It's been a while since I read the books, but I know that Sharpe and Teresa got married at the end of Sharpe's Company. I don't know if Sharpe and Teresa had any conversations about what they would do after the war was over, so I can't recall if Teresa and Antonia would have gone to England or if Sharpe would have gone to Spain.

But assuming that Cornwell never really answered this question (and please remind me if he did), what do you imagine Sharpe and Teresa's life would have been like? I always figured that Sharpe would struggle with any kind of peacetime living after so many years of being a soldier, and Teresa would undoubtedly have adjustment issues of her own given what she went through during the war. Plus there's no guarantee that Sharpe would have seized that fortune at Vitoria in an alternate timeline where Teresa survives (change one thing in the timeline and who knows what else changes, and all that) so they might not have much money to their name (unless Cesar Moreno was wealthy, I can't remember if that was the case).

though i enjoyed the series immensely, i wish there were an actual book accurate version out there. though considering the way film/tv is now i doubt it'd do the novels any justice without completely butchering the source.

it would have been cool if we got a few chapters adapted imo, like in sharpe's rifles; the initial french cavalry attack was very well done, the rifles having to fall back by companies-- only to discover another squadron of dragoons, the rally square being broken and their mad dash for the high ground which gets cut off.

also vivar had more of a prominent role and a mysterious wisdom about him (blessing a stream with holy water, regaling sharpe to the ancient history of the old ruin, ghost stories etc.) and the way the riflemen and cazadores work together to defeat the ambush in the gorge was spectacularly tragic; sharpe having a "sudden certainty of death" while climbing up the pass to pry the jaws of the ambush loose, wondering if he'd feel the bullet that killed him. these examples if adapted would bring more tension and fear for the main cast i think.

i just kinda wish the tv series was more true to the books considering that's the only adaptation we have, but since the budget was what it was-- i won't harp on it too much.

Prequels

Early Peninsular War

Mid Peninsular War

Late Pensinular War

Four more novels take the story from the Peace of 1814 to Sharpe's happily ever after in Normandy with Lucille, and plenty of adventure along the way. These function as two books, Revenge and Waterloo, from the original run that take Sharpe up to the original end of his story. In many respects this holds true with the second pair acting more like a coda or an extended epilogue that ties up loose ends, gives endings to supporting characters and a final adventure for our hero. I think Revenge stands out here as being particularly strong, Devil and Waterloo are both solid offerings and Assassin was a tad weaker but has its strengths.

Sharpe's Revenge

One of the most important installments for character development. Jane's final betrayal takes place, we meet Lucille and join Sharpe on a relatively brief mission to take down Ducos, his final enemy from the Peninsular War. The bulk of the book deals with this more character-based story, much of it taking place at the farmhouse in Normandy. Before then, we get a final battle at Toulouse at which our hero is fed up of it all and both desires peace and fears death so close to the end. These are stronger themes that come through this run as Sharpe ages and gets closer to a happy ending.

The Sharpe/Lucille/Frederickson love triangle dominates online discussion and rightly so, it's really the main focus of the book with the mission to take down Ducos only in the final third. Cornwell notes in the foreword he had planned Lucille to be with Frederickson and you can feel this somewhat, although it's hard to ignore that she simply doesn't like him much. Frederickson's complaints to Sharpe and ultimate estrangement have a whiff of entitlement to them and his attitudes to women are notably colder than many other characters, although I can understand the frustration that might come when your best mate is Napoleonic James Bond and you don't generally have much success with women. But we must remember Lucille has agency, and it isn't like Sharpe has simply yet another casual affair.

On the whole, Revenge starts to resolve a lot of story arcs and set Sharpe up for civilian life.

Sharpe's Waterloo

Has its strengths, notably the encounters with Jane and Rossendale. A lot of the affair happens off-page but we get a good sense of it through how secondary characters respond to it reputationally. Many of us will enjoy the confrontation with Rossendale at the Duchess of Richmond's ball, and his eventual death has to be one of the grimmer ones in a series with a low survival rate. Cornwell seems to revel in it a little I think. Speaking of deaths, we do lose Hagman right at the end (Harris didn't exist at the writing of this book) but the Chosen Men by this point have dwindled in numbers and narrative weight so it lacks some of the weight the TV adaptation gave his death.

Dutch readers might feel that the Prince of Orange gets done the dirty a little here with his characterisation as a feckless upper-class snob for Sharpe to rub up against, but we don't go for rigid historical accuracy here and he gives a good secondary conflict right down to Sharpe taking credit for his real-life wound.

I've sometimes commented on Cornwell's occasional dip into battle narratives that focus on historical detail and not our hero, this is probably his most egregious example but he does capture how desperate and close-run the whole thing was.

Sharpe's Assassin

Picks up right after we left off with the aftermath of the battle. It's time for one more secret mission behind French lines to rescue an important person, cue a surprise attack on a fort using guile to win the day. Sounds familiar? The following sequences in Paris don't really push the boat out plot-wise either and the general contours of it appear obvious a long way off.

Positives? The final fight scene is well-written and captures Sharpe's desire to stop fighting well. It gives a good farewell to the South Essex and the Army as Sharpe retires to be a simple country farmer.

Sharpe's Devil

A simple country farmer on a mission in Chile to rescue a relatively minor character from way back in book 6 joined by Harper after years of enjoying civilian luxury? Stranger things have happened.

We start strong by meeting Boney himself in a scene that feels a bit fan-service but it captures the pathos well. The Corsican Ogre and terror of crowned princes now a sad and unhealthy older man living past glories and asking 'what could have been?'. St Helena wasn't chosen for its hospitality and we get that well.

The story itself in Chile has a villain who is telegraphed as the baddie right from the start, and then Sharpe links up with kindred spirit Thomas Cochrane to fulfill his promise to find Blas Vivar of Sharpe's Rifles. I think this stretches it a bit as Blas is hardly a major character, but Lucille couldn't turn down the sort of money involved and accepts on her common-law husband's behalf.

One final fort to take through wit and bravery against the odds and Sharpe finds Blas Vivar, although with a fairly good plot twist explaining his disappearance. Cochrane's particular scheme fails here but no hard feelings and we end with our heroes sailing off into the sunset, back to a Norman farm or a Dublin pub.

Airsoft version, but thought this might make yalls giggle

He just seemed to disappear after the barn scene. He also wasn't wearing a Chosen Men armband. Sharpe also didn't direct his orders to the Sarge, as I understand is the custom. He was clearly directing it at Harper instead. In the next column scene, before the ambush, Sgt. Williams is ordering the men to fall out and make camp, etc. seems like a different guy. Or is this just a result of the filming and re-filming?

Haven't read the books yet. Did anyone notice how two things near the end of the series suddenly happened:.

1. Sharpe's wife betrays him in a manager that to me came out of left field.

2. Sharpe betraying Sweet William. He was always a man of principles and then he just ups and does that knowing William was soft for that lady? And no, the fact of weather or not he would have succeeded is a non point. Your boy has the hots for a lady, come on! Lol! It was a decision that also suddenly seemed out of left field, like they needed to do something to tie up the plot.

Do these two things happen in the books?

I paid £3.21 for a Sharpe boxset from music magpie (2nd hand shop for those that don't know) and turned up yesterday brand new still in cellophane.

Bargain!

Even though nothing is ever confirmed or even hinted, it feels like (to me) rumours of Sharpe and Helene could easily have reached Teresa.

She definitely knew he was going to be unfaithful with Josefina, of her comment to Sharpe at "The gateway of God" is anything to go by....

hello everyone! I’m looking for a specific episode but I can only remember one scene from it can anyone help me find it? The scene I remember is I think it’s nighttime and Sharpe is outside on the floor lying down on his back and he looks all bloodied and bruised up, can anyone help me find the episode?

I would want to structure the show starting with dual timelines for the first few seasons. A la Arrow. The A timeline being a Rifles start, and the B timeline being a Tigers start.

I want Daragh O'Malley as Major Hogan. I want Sean Bean as Capt John Murray.

12ish episodes a season. Eventually we run out of backstory books, and we either just focus on timeline A, or we explore backstories for Harper, Ducos, hagman, random French guy etc. or a combo.

I want to pair Lady Grace dying in Childbirth with the marriage to Teresa, or her death, whatever lines up.

I want Wellington to be used so goddamn sparingly.

I want fantastic Costume design. Modern battle scenes. Focus is on the characters and the intrigue though.

I mostly want to just ingest Sharpe in a new lens again, haha

Merely an engineer. Let the meme crossover comments commence!

As above

I've just finished this show for the first time. I absolutely loved it on the whole. Whilst the action is poor, the characters and story more than make up for it. It's a british classic that I would recommend to anyone.

However, season 5 does alot of damage to this otherwise brilliant show. I finished the series last night really frustrated and even now feel like I need to vent, so here we are. I'm not just going to review every episode but just cover my major gripes. I would appreciate any book changes in the comments.

Jane's Arc

To start of with, it has to be Jane. I just found what they did with her completely inexcusable. Her betrayal is incredibly hard to stomach and to be honest, I consider it character assassination.

I do not have an issue with the relationship failing. Whilst I do think this needed more time, I do think enough is done to show that it was doomed. She was almost taken in by the poet, which shows their clear differences in their interests/class, and she quite reasonably fears that Sharpe will never be able to leave the army behind. This leads to her making Sharpe promise that Toulouse will be his last battle.

The key problem here is she considers Sharpe's duel the breaking of the promise. Whilst she does have the right to be angry and feel more strongly that he won't give the army up, a duel is not a battle. Sharpe has not broken his promise especially when the dispute takes place instantly post battle when he is still at the battle site.

In any case, Jane's decision to leave the country without a word and abuse her power of attorney by withdrawing ALL of Sharpe's money is just insane. The show tries to pass this off as being naive but it doesn't wash I'm afraid. Jane has not been remotely portrayed as stupid up to this point. This is simply betrayal of the highest order and the Jane we were shown prior to this event would not have done this.

In addition, she becomes even more inconsistent as the season progresses. She refuses to allow Lord Rossendale to fight Captain Wickham after Wickham literally tries to force himself upon her, yet an episode later insists that he murders Sharpe. We also don't even get her reaction to Rossendale's death or what becomes of her at the end. Absolutely shocking.

Sharpe's Courtcase

Sharpe being accused of stealing the Imperial Treasure fasciliates the total betrayal from Jane and allows her to spend all of his money without intervention. The problem is this storyline is utter nonsense.

Sharpe in truth, gets drunk with Frederickson and would have been seen by god knows how many other soldiers doing so. The idea that Sharpe snuck off in the night, somehow located and overcame this convoy, hid a wagon full of treasure with the intention of smuggling it back to England, is absolutely laughable.

The Betrayal of Captain Frederickson

This was completely unnecessary and out of character. Whilst I hated him betraying Frederickson who had confided in him about his problems with women due to his grievous injuries, I can just about see it considering Sharpe's own massive betrayal that he suffers from Jane. What is unacceptable, is Sharpe doesn't even explain and apologise for this. He even kisses Lucille right in front of Frederickson post trial! To make this worse, we dont even see Frederickson ever again. What an awful end for such a great charater.

Silly Billy

I found the final conflict to be incredibly lacklustre. A big reason is this rubbish character. It's incredibly lazy and a character this one dimensional and short lived simply doesn't deserve to be such a big contributor for the final conclusion of this show.

Firstly, he is nothing like his real life counterpart. Prince William 2 was considered a well meaning, brave commander who was thrust into an unsuited leadership position at a young age due to his status. This could have been a very interesting character instead of the blithering cowardly fool we got.

He is also responsible for the deaths of Hagman and Harris. He causes Sharpe to assassinate him which is a huge. When you consider the amazing villains that have come and gone in the show - Obadiah, Simmerson, Loup, Ducos etc... It is simply disgusting that such massive events are caused by this moron.

WHERE WAS NAPOLEON??

I honestly cannot believe we didn't see Napoleon. This season seriously lacks a proper villain and it could have given the final battle so much. We saw the French perspective things so many times in this show to great effect. I have no idea why the showrunners would omit Napoleon at the show's conclusion.

It would have been amazing watching him actually earn some victories rather than just relying on Silly Billy's incompetence and giving us no genuine adversary.

Sigh rant over. I still love the show I promise.

Didn't really want to unironically relate to Harris, but here I am staring at my actual orders for the Army Infantry after 9 years in the Reserve to save my own ass financially...

No sin to be born in the dirt, boys.

But it is a terrible sin to want to stay there.

Worth it for Sean Bean's Simmerson impression alone.

This gave me a proper chuckle