History Comes Dangerously Alive

Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in
Northern Portugal, Spring 1809

Lieutenant Richard Sharpe finds himself fighting the ruthless armies of Napoleon Bonaparte as they try to bring the whole of the Iberian Peninsula under their control. Napoleon is advancing fast through northern Portugal, and no one knows whether the small contingent of British troops stationed in Lisbon will stay to fight or sail back to England. Sharpe, however, does not have a choice: He and his squad of riflemen are on the lookout for the missing daughter of an English wine shipper when the French onslaught begins and the city of Oporto becomes a setting for carnage and disaster.

Stranded behind enemy lines, Sharpe returns to his mission to find Kate Savage. Sharpe's position on enemy grounds is precarious, and his search is further complicated by a mysterious and threatening Englishman, Colonel Christopher, who has his own ideas on how the French can be driven from Portugal.

It is India, 1803.In the four years since he earned his sergeant's stripes, young Richard Sharpe has led a relatively peaceful existence. But Sharpe's reverie ends when he barely survives a murderous act of treason by a bitter English officer who has joined the mercenary forces of the Mahratta confederation, determined to drive the British from the continent. Vowing to hunt down the turncoat, Sharpe plunges headlong into the white-hot battle of Assaye alongside Sir Arthur Wellesley -- the future of Duke of Wellington -- in the fiercest fight of his career. Sharpe's Triumph is a riveting story of betrayal and revenge that showcases the deft blend of suspenseful military adventure and sweeping historical detail that has made Bernard Corwell's books bestsellers around the world.

It's 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just an illiterate young private in His Majesty's service, part of an expedition sent to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive his French allies out of India.

Posing as a deserter, 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 man-eating tigers. Picking his way through an exotic and alien world, one slip will mean disaster as Sharpe learns that he must fight his old comrades in order to save his own neck. Along the way, he keeps an eye out for Mysore's beautiful prositutes, any stray loot he can get his hands on and the chance to learn his ABC's. But when the furious British assault on the city begins, Sharpe must fight with the fierceness and agility of a tiger himself to foil the Tippoo's well-set trap -- and to keep from being killed by his own side....

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today" (Washington Post) tackles his richest, most thrilling subject yet—the heroic tale of Agincourt.

Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a cursed past—haunted by what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done. A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture means certain death. Instead he is discovered by the young King of England—Henry V himself—and by royal command he takes up the longbow again and dons the cross of Saint George. Hook returns to France as part of the superb army Henry leads in his quest to claim the French crown. But after the English campaign suffers devastating early losses, it becomes clear that Hook and his fellow archers are their king's last resort in a desperate fight against an enemy more daunting than they could ever have imagined.

One of the most dramatic victories in British history, the battle of Agincourt—immortalized by Shakespeare in Henry V—pitted undermanned and overwhelmed English forces against a French army determined to keep their crown out of Henry's hands. Here Bernard Cornwell resurrects the legend of the battle and the "band of brothers" who fought it on October 25, 1415. An epic of redemption, Agincourt follows a commoner, a king, and a nation's entire army on an improbable mission to test the will of God and reclaim what is rightfully theirs. From the disasters at the siege of Harfleur to the horrors of the field of Agincourt, this exhilarating story of survival and slaughter is at once a brilliant work of history and a triumph of imagination—Bernard Cornwell at his best.

Only two obstacles stand between Napoleon's mighty army and its seemingly certain conquest of Portugal: a land wasted and stripped of food at Wellington's orders . . . and Captain Richard Sharpe. But perils from within and without threaten the bold captain of the Light Company -- the hatred and incompetence of a superior officer, the vicious treachery of a false ally, and the overwhelming numbers of a fierce, determined enemy -- combining to make Sharpe's escape a near impossibility.

Already a seasoned veteran of King Edward's army, young Thomas of Hookton possesses the fearlessness of a born leader and an uncanny prowess with the longbow. Now, at the head of a small but able band of soldiers, he has been dispatched to capture the castle of Astarac. But more than duty to his liege has brought him to Gascony, home of his forebears and the hated black knight who brutally slew Thomas's father. It is also the last place where the Holy Grail was reported seen. Here, also, a beautiful and innocent, if not pious, woman is to be burned as a heretic. Saving the lady, Genevieve, from her dread fate will brand Thomas an infidel, forcing them to flee together across a landscape of blood and fire. And what looms ahead is a battle to the death that could ultimately shape the future of Christendom.

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today" (Washington Post) tackles his richest, most thrilling subject yet: the heroic tale of Agincourt.

One of the most dramatic victories in British history, the battle of Agincourt—immortalized by Shakespeare in Henry V—pitted undermanned and overwhelmed English forces against a French army determined to keep their crown out of Henry's hands. Here Bernard Cornwell resurrects the legend of the battle and the "band of brothers" who fought on that fateful October day in 1415. An epic of redemption, Agincourt follows a commoner, a king, and a nation's entire army on an improbable mission to test the will of God and reclaim what is rightfully theirs—an exhilarating story of survival and slaughter that is, at once, a brilliant work of history and a triumph of imagination.

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today" (Washington Post) tackles his richest, most thrilling subject yet—the heroic tale of Agincourt.

Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a cursed past—haunted by what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done. A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture means certain death. Instead he is discovered by the young King of England—Henry V himself—and by royal command he takes up the longbow again and dons the cross of Saint George. Hook returns to France as part of the superb army Henry leads in his quest to claim the French crown. But after the English campaign suffers devastating early losses, it becomes clear that Hook and his fellow archers are their king's last resort in a desperate fight against an enemy more daunting than they could ever have imagined.

One of the most dramatic victories in British history, the battle of Agincourt—immortalized by Shakespeare in Henry V—pitted undermanned and overwhelmed English forces against a French army determined to keep their crown out of Henry's hands. Here Bernard Cornwell resurrects the legend of the battle and the "band of brothers" who fought it on October 25, 1415. An epic of redemption, Agincourt follows a commoner, a king, and a nation's entire army on an improbable mission to test the will of God and reclaim what is rightfully theirs. From the disasters at the siege of Harfleur to the horrors of the field of Agincourt, this exhilarating story of survival and slaughter is at once a brilliant work of history and a triumph of imagination—Bernard Cornwell at his best.

As Napoleon threatens to crush Britain on the battlefield, Lt. Col. Richard Sharpe leads a ragtag army to exact personal revenge against a French general known for his acts of terror.

Sharpe's Battle takes Richard Sharpe and his company back to the spring of 1811 and one of the most bitter battles of the Peninsular War, a battle on which all British hopes of victory in Spain will depend. Sharpe is given responsibility to lead an Irish battalion of the king of Spain's household guard, ceremonial troops untrained and unequipped for battle. While quartered in the crumbling fort of San Isidro, they are attacked by murderous Brigadier General Guy Luop's elite French brigade. Sharpe has witnessed General Loup's despicable was crimes before; to put an end to them, and to settle another more personal score, Sharpe must lead his company into the blood-gutted streets of Fuentes de Oñoro, where thousands of French troops have amassed, in a battle to the death.

When Richmond landowner Washington Faulconer snatches young Nate Starbuck from the grip of a Yankee-hating mob, Nate is both grateful and awed by his idealistic rescuer. To repay his generosity, he enlists in the Faulconer legion to fight against his home, the North, and against his abolitionist father. When the regiment joins up, ready to march into the ferocious battle at Buff Run, the men are prepared to start a war ... but they aren't ready for how they -- and the nation -- will be forever changed by the oaths they have sworn for their beloved South.

Only two obstacles stand between Napoleon's mighty army and its seemingly certain conquest of Portugal: a land wasted and stripped of food at Wellington's orders . . . and Captain Richard Sharpe. But perils from within and without threaten the bold captain of the Light Company -- the hatred and incompetence of a superior officer, the vicious treachery of a false ally . . . and the overwhelming numbers of a fierce, determined enemy, combining to make Sharpe's escape a near impossibility.

Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Fortress -- the stunning successor to Sharpe's Tiger and Sharpe's Triumph -- marks the explosive finale in Richard Sharpe's trio of unforgettable adventures in India.

Richard Sharpe, now an officer in Wellesley's army, faces a battle of a different kind-this time among his own ranks. Uncomfortable with his newfound authority and unwilling colleagues, Sharpe is relegated to the tedium of baggage duty. But when he catches wind of a treasonous scheme devised by none other than his oldest and worst enemy, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, Sharpe has little choice but to take up arms, seek revenge, and regain his stolen treasure-the jewels of the Tippoo Sultan. Joining Wellesley's army as it prepares to lay siege to this fortress high above the Deccan Plain, Sharpe will risk his honor, reputation, and fortune on a battle that will test him as never before.

Distinguished at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Confederate Captain Nate Starbuck's career is jeopardized once again by the suspicion and hostility of his brigade commander, General Washington Faulconer. The outcome of this vicious fight drastically changes both men's fortunes and propels AX into the ghastly bloodletting at the Second Battle of Manassas.

Evocative and historically accurate, Battle Flag continues Bernard Cornwell's powerful series of Nate's adventures on some of the most decisive battlefields of the American Civil War.

A brutal raid on the quiet coastal English village of Hookton in 1342 leaves but one survivor: a young archer named Thomas. On this terrible dawn, his purpose becomes clear -- to recover a stolen sacred relic and pursue to the ends of the earth the murderous black-clad knight bearing a blue-and-yellow standard, a journey that leads him to the courageous rescue of a beautiful French woman, and sets him on his ultimate quest: the search for the Holy Grail.

In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.

From New York Times bestselling storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds.

The year is 1807, and Richard Sharpe is back in England, where his career seems to have come to a dead end, despite his heroics in Britain's recent victory at Trafalgar. Loveless, destitute, and relegated to the menial tasks of quartermaster, Sharpe roams the streets of London, pondering a bleak future away from the army.

Then, out of the blue, an old friend invites him to undertake a secret mission -- the delivery of a bribe -- to the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Denmark is officially neutral, but Napoleon is threatening an invasion in order to capture the powerful Danish fleet, which would replace the ships France lost in its disastrous defeat at Trafalgar. The British, fearing such enhancement of French power, threaten their own preemptive invasion, and Sharpe, whose errand seemed so simple, is trapped in a web of treachery that will end only when the city, which thought itself safe, is subjected to a brutal and merciless bombardment.

Paradise is the perfect escape for ex-Marine Nick Breakspear, captain of a charter yacht operation in the Bahamas, until he agrees to pilot a "detox cruise" for the drug-addled grown son and daughter of a powerful U.S. senator. Ambushed far from port, he is helpless to prevent the murder of a crew member by modern-day pirates who sink Nick's yacht before vanishing with the senator's kids. Having barely eluded death, Nick must immediately set sail for disaster once again. For there's a death to be avenged on the dark side of Eden, the senator is demanding that his lost children be found . . . and the woman Nick loves is being held prisoner by killers somewhere on Murder Cay.

The civil war that is tearing England asunder in the year 1643 has not yet touched Dorcas Slythe, a secretly rebellious young Puritan woman living in the countryside south of London. She aches to escape the safe, pious tyranny of her father—and the opportunity appears with the arrival of Toby Lazender, dashing scion of a powerful royalist family, who awakens her to her passionate destiny. Her adventure truly begins with the discovery of an intricately wrought gold seal—one of four that, when joined, will reveal a great secret. Suddenly grave danger lies before her—not from Cromwell's advancing armies, but from relentless enemies who covet the great treasure to which she now holds the key.

An honored veteran of the Napolenic Wars, Lt. Col. Richard Sharpe is drawn into a deadly battle, both on land and on the high seas.

The year is 1820, and military hero Richard Sharpe has quietly passed the years since the Battle of Waterloo as a farmer. Suddenly, his peaceful retirement is disturbed when he and the intrepid Patrick Harper are called to the Spanish colony of Chile to find Don Blas Vivar, an old friend who has vanished without a trace -- and who just happened to be the captain-general of Chile. Sharpe and Harper embark on a dangerous journey that carries themfirst to an unexpected interview with Napoleon, then on to Chile, a land seething with corruption and revolt. On land and at sea, Sharpe faces impossible odds, not only against finding Vivar, but against surviving in a time when tyranny rules, injustice abounds -- Napoleon lurks on the horizon, itching to rekindle the world in a blaze of war.

The year is 1811. With the British army penned into a small part of Portugal, and all of Spain except for the coastal city of Cádiz fallen to the invader, the French appear to have won their war. Raised in the gutters of London and taught to fight, Captain Richard Sharpe is in the Spanish capital on a mission for the British ambassador. But when a British attack on an enemy-held bridge goes disastrously wrong, he finds himself trapped in a city under siege, a hotbed of treachery, false allies, and pernicious plots. And as dawn breaks on a March morning, Sharpe must be prepared to come to the aid of the charismatic Scotsman Sir Thomas Graham, the city's would-be liberator, whose small, outnumbered army has been abandoned by the Spanish and is now is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Yet for Richard Sharpe, the impending battle against overwhelming odds is about more than destiny and duty; it is about revenge.

The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the south. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord—warrior by instinct, Viking by nature—has finally settled down. He has land, a wife, and two children, and a duty given to him by King Alfred to hold the frontier on the Thames. But then trouble stirs: a dead man has risen, and new Vikings have arrived to occupy the decayed Roman city of London. Their dream is to conquer Wessex, and to do it they need Uhtred's help.

Alfred has other ideas. He wants Uhtred to expel the Viking raiders from London. Uhtred must weigh his oath to the king against the dangerous turning tide of shifting allegiances and deadly power struggles. And other storm clouds are gathering: Ætheleflæd—Alfred's daughter—is newly married, but by a cruel twist of fate, her very existence now threatens Alfred's kingdom. It is Uhtred—half Saxon, half Dane—whose uncertain loyalties must now decide England's future.

A gripping story of love, deceit, and violence, Sword Song is set in an England of tremendous turmoil and strife—yet one galvanized by the hope that Alfred may prove an enduring force. Uhtred, his lord of war and greatest warrior, has become his sword—a man feared and respected the length and breadth of Britain.

In a battery of events that will make a hero out of an illiterate private, a young Richard Sharpe poses as the enemy to bring down a ruthless Indian dictator backed by fearsome French troops.

The year is 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just beginning his military career. An inexperienced young private in His Majesty's service, Sharpe becomes part of an expedition to India to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive out his French allies. To penetrate the Tippoo's city and make contact with a Scottish spy being held prisoner there, Sharpe has to pose as a deserter. Success will make him a sergeant, but failure will turn him over to the Tippoo's brutal executioners -- or, worse -- his man-eating tigers. Picking his way through an exotic and alien world. Sharpe realizes that one slip will mean disaster. And when the furious British assault on the city finally begins, Sharpe must take up arms against his true comrades to preserve his false identity, risking death at their hands in order to avoid detection and thus to foil the Tippoo's well-set trap.

The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the south. Warrior by instinct and Viking by nature, Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has land, a wife and children—and a duty to King Alfred to hold the frontier on the Thames. But a dead man has risen, and new Vikings have invaded the decayed Roman city of London with dreams of conquering Wessex . . . with Uhtred's help. Suddenly forced to weigh his oath to the king against the dangerous turning tide of shifting allegiances and deadly power struggles, Uhtred—Alfred's sharpest sword—must now make the choice that will determine England's future.

The year is 878. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has helped the Saxons of Wessex defeat the invading Danes. Now, finally free of his allegiance to the victorious, ungrateful King Alfred, he is heading home to rescue his stepsister, a prisoner of Kjartan the Cruel in the formidable Danish stronghold of Dunholm. Uhtred's best hope is his sword, Serpent-Breath, for his only allies are Hild, a West Saxon nun fleeing her calling, and Guthred, a slave who believes himself king. Rebellion, chaos, fear, and betrayal await them in the north, forcing Uhtred to turn once more, reluctantly, to the liege he formerly served in battle and blood: Alfred the Great.

The last unvanquished piece of England, Wessex is eyed hungrily by the fearsome Viking conquerors. A dispossessed young nobleman, Uhtred is tied to the imperiled land by birth and marriage but was raised by the Danish invaders—and he questions where his allegiance must lie. But blood is his destiny, and when the overwhelming Viking horde attacks out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred must put aside all hatred and distrust and stand beside his embattled country's staunch defender—the fugitive King Alfred.

The Pale Horseman is a gripping, monumental adventure that gives breathtaking life to one of the most important epochs in English history—yet another masterwork from New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell.

In this fourth, final, and rousing installment of Nathaniel Starbuck's Civil War adventures, Nate is given command of a punishment battalion: a motley collection of cowards, thieves, deserters, and murderers. Setting off to Join General Robert E. Lee's army, Starbuck's men reach Harper's Ferry in time to take part in Stonewall Jackson's capture of the Union garrison. From there, the regiment moves on to the legendary horror of Sharpsburg, beside the Antietam Creek, forever to be remembered as the bloodiest single day of the war. There, Starbuck and his troop will have their courage and commitment tested as never before.