Bernard Cornwell's career started in 1981 with Sharpe's Eagle. He has been a prolific historical novelist since then, having published more than 60 novels.

Novel series

The Sharpe stories

Cornwell's best known books feature the adventures of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars.

The first 11 books of the Sharpe series (beginning in chronological order with Sharpe's Rifles and ending with Sharpe's Waterloo, published in the US as Waterloo) detail Sharpe's adventures in various Peninsular War campaigns over the course of 6–7 years. Subsequently, Cornwell wrote a prequel quintet – Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph, Sharpe's Fortress, Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Prey – depicting Sharpe's adventures under Wellington's command in India, including his hard-won promotion to the officer corps, his return to Britain and his arrival in the 95th Rifles, and a sequel, Sharpe's Devil, set six years after the end of the wars.

He also wrote Sharpe's Battle, a novel "inserted" into his previous continuity, taking place during the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. It has been asserted [unattributed] that Cornwell was initially dubious about the casting of Sean Bean for the television adaptations. However, Cornwell effectively scotches this assertion in an interview with the "CompleatSeanBean" website. Indeed, Cornwell states in the same interview that he "was utterly delighted that it was to be Sean Bean". Cornwell also dedicated Sharpe's Battle to Sean Bean, and has admitted that he subtly changed the writing of the character to align with Bean's portrayal. Since 2003, he has written further "missing adventures" set during the "classic" Peninsular War era.

The following is the correct 'historical' order, although they are all standalone stories:

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The Starbuck Chronicles

A tetralogy set during the American Civil War. The title character, Nathaniel Starbuck, is a Northerner who has decided to fight for the South in a Virginian regiment, the Faulconer Legion. The last novel to date in the series has been The Bloody Ground, taking place during the Antietam Campaign. Cornwell has said that he plans to write more Starbuck novels, but has not done so yet.

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The Warlord Chronicles

A trilogy depicting Cornwell's historical re-creation of Arthurian Britain. The series posits that Post-Roman Britain was a difficult time for the native Britons, being threatened by invasion from the Anglo-Saxons in the East and raids from the Irish in the West. At the same time, they suffered internal power struggles between their petty kingdoms and friction between the old Druidic religion and newly arrived Christianity.

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The Grail Quest novels

A series that deals with a mid-14th century search for the Holy Grail during the Hundred Years' War. An English archer, Thomas of Hookton, becomes drawn into the quest by the actions of a mercenary soldier called "The Harlequin," who murders Thomas's family in his own obsessive search for the Grail. Cornwell was planning at one point to write more books about the main character Thomas of Hookton and said that shortly after finishing Heretic he had "... started another Thomas of Hookton book, then stopped it – mainly because I felt that his story ended in Heretic and I was just trying to get too much from him. Which doesn't mean I won't pick the idea up again sometime in the future."

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The Saxon Stories

Cornwell's latest series focuses on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, England during the 9th-century reign of Alfred the Great, his fierce opposition to the Danes and his determination to unite England as one country.

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Thrillers Cornwell's thrillers are modern mysteries, all with sailing themes. He is a traditional sailor and enjoys sailing his Cornish Crabber by the name of Royalist. His thorough knowledge of sailing and popular skills with writing combine in great novels for the nautically obsessed. According to Cornwell's website, there may be no additions to the series: "I enjoyed writing the thrillers, but suspect I am happier writing historical novels. I'm always delighted when people want more of the sailing books, but I'm not planning on writing any more, at least not now – but who knows? perhaps when I retire."

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Other standalone novels

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Non-fiction Cornwell published a nonfiction book, Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles, released in September 2014, timely for the 200th anniversary of that battle.

Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles September 2014 / 9780007539383 (UK edition) Publisher William Collins

Bibliography Year Title Notes 1981 Sharpe's Eagle 1981 Sharpe's Gold 1982 Sharpe's Company 1983 Sharpe's Sword 1983 Sharpe's Enemy 1983 A Crowning Mercy With Susannah Kells, the pseudonym of Judy Cornwell, Bernard Cornwell's wife 1984 Fallen Angels With Susannah Kells, the pseudonym of Judy Cornwell, Bernard Cornwell's wife 1985 Sharpe's Honour 1986 Sharpe's Regiment 1986 Coat of Arms aka The Aristocrats, with Susannah Kells, the pseudonym of Judy Cornwell, Bernard Cornwell's wife 1987 Sharpe's Siege 1987 Redcoat 1988 Sharpe's Rifles 1988 Wildtrack 1989 Sharpe's Revenge 1989 Sea Lord aka Killer's Wake 1990 Sharpe's Waterloo 1990 Crackdown 1991 Stormchild 1992 Sharpe's Devil 1992 Scoundrel 1993 Rebel 1994 Copperhead 1995 Sharpe's Battle 1995 Battle Flag 1995 The Winter King 1996 The Bloody Ground 1996 Enemy of God 1997 Sharpe's Tiger 1997 Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur 1998 Sharpe's Triumph 1999 Sharpe's Fortress 1999 Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC 2000 Harlequin aka The Archer's Tale 2001 Sharpe's Trafalgar 2001 Gallows Thief 2002 Sharpe's Prey 2002 Sharpe's Skirmish Short story, revised from 1999 version issued as a promotional item with UK edition of Sharpe's Fortress 2002 Vagabond 2003 Sharpe's Havoc 2003 Sharpe's Christmas Short story 2003 Heretic 2004 Sharpe's Escape 2004 The Last Kingdom 2005 The Pale Horseman 2006 Sharpe's Fury 2006 The Lords of the North 2007 Sword Song 2008 Azincourt US title: Agincourt 2009 The Burning Land 2010 The Fort 2011 Death of Kings 2012 1356 2013 The Pagan Lord 2014 Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles 2014 The Empty Throne 2015 Warriors of the Storm 2016 The Flame Bearer 2017 Fools and Mortals 2018 War of the Wolf 2019 Sword of Kings 2020 War Lord 2021 Sharpe's Assassin 2023 Sharpe's Command 2025 Sharpe's Storm

References

External links

Bibliography at Fantastic Fiction