Bernard Cornwell is an English historical novelist, born in London in 1944, best known for the Sharpe novels about a British rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars and for the Saxon Stories, the thirteen books adapted for television as “The Last Kingdom”. He has published more than sixty novels since 1981.
Cornwell was adopted and brought up in Thundersley, Essex, by a family who belonged to the Peculiar People, a strict pacifist sect. He read history at University College London, worked as a teacher, then joined the BBC, rising to head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland before becoming editor of Thames News. In 1979 he married an American, Judy, and moved to the United States. Unable to obtain a green card, he began writing novels because that required no work permit.
As a boy he had loved C. S. Forester’s Hornblower stories and was surprised that nobody had done the same for the army. The result was Richard Sharpe, who first appeared in “Sharpe’s Eagle” and “Sharpe’s Gold” in 1981. “Sharpe’s Rifles” was written at the request of a television production company, and the ITV films starring Sean Bean ran from 1993. Cornwell later added prequels set in India and further adventures in the Peninsular War; the most recent, “Sharpe’s Storm”, appeared in 2025.
His other series range across British and American history. The Starbuck Chronicles follow a Boston-born soldier in the Confederate army, the Warlord Chronicles retell the Arthur story in post-Roman Britain, and the Grail Quest books follow the archer Thomas of Hookton through the Hundred Years’ War. The Saxon Stories, begun with “The Last Kingdom” in 2004 and completed with “War Lord” in 2020, tell of the making of England through Uhtred of Bebbanburg. The idea came after Cornwell met his birth father in his fifties and learned that his ancestry could be traced back to the historical Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
He has also written five sailing thrillers, standalone novels including “Azincourt” and “Fools and Mortals”, and one work of non-fiction, “Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles” (2014). “The Winter King” was adapted for television in 2023. Cornwell was appointed OBE in 2006 and divides his time between Cape Cod and Charleston, South Carolina.
Publication Order of Sharpe Books
Sharpe’s Eagle
1981
Sharpe’s Gold
1981
Sharpe’s Company
1982
Sharpe’s Sword
1983
Sharpe’s Enemy
1984
Sharpe’s Honour
1985
Sharpe’s Regiment
1986
Sharpe’s Siege
1987
Sharpe’s Rifles
1988
Sharpe’s Revenge
1989
Sharpe’s Waterloo / Waterloo
1990
Sharpe’s Devil
1992
Sharpe’s Battle
1995
Sharpe’s Tiger
1997
Sharpe’s Triumph
1998
Sharpe’s Fortress
1999
Sharpe’s Trafalgar
2000
Sharpe’s Prey
2001
Sharpe’s Havoc
2003
Sharpe’s Escape
2004
Sharpe’s Fury
2006
Sharpe’s Assassin
2021
Sharpe’s Command
2023
Sharpe’s Storm
2025
Publication Order of The Last Kingdom / Saxon Stories Books
The Last Kingdom
2004
The Pale Horseman
2005
The Lords of the North
2006
Sword Song
2007
The Burning Land
2009
Death of Kings
2011
The Pagan Lord
2013
The Empty Throne
2014
Warriors of the Storm
2015
The Flame Bearer
2016
War of the Wolf
2018
Sword of Kings
2019
War Lord
2020
Publication Order of Warlord Chronicles Books
The Winter King
1995
Enemy of God
1996
Excalibur
1997
Publication Order of Grail Quest Books
Harlequin / The Archer’s Tale
2000
Vagabond
2002
Heretic
2003
1356
2012
Publication Order of Starbuck Chronicles Books
Rebel
1993
Copperhead
1994
Battle Flag
1995
The Bloody Ground
1996
Publication Order of Sailing Thrillers Books
Wildtrack
1988
Sea Lord / Killer’s Wake
1989
Crackdown
1990
Stormchild
1991
Scoundrel
1992
Publication Order of Crowning Mercy Books
A Crowning Mercy (As: Susannah Kells)
1983
Fallen Angels (As: Susannah Kells)
1984
Coat of Arms / The Aristocrats (As: Susannah Kells)
1986
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Redcoat
1987
Stonehenge
1999
Gallows Thief
2001
Azincourt / Agincourt
2008
The Fort
2010
Fools and Mortals
2017
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
Sharpe’s Skirmish
2002
Sharpe’s Christmas
2003
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
Sharpe’s Story
2007
Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
