BERNARD CORNWELL

Thomas of Hookton is one of those archers. When his village is sacked by French raiders, he makes a promise to God: to retrieve the relic stolen from Hookton's church. Escaping his father's ambitions, he becomes a wild youth who delights in the life of an army on the warpath. Driven by his conscience and protected by his fearsome skills, he ente...

Richard Sharpe and the campaign in northern Portugal, spring 1809. A small British army is stranded when the French invade northern Portugal. Sharpe is cut off and his attempts to fight his way back to the British lines fail until he is joined by the future Duke of Wellington. They immediately mount a counter-attack and Sharpe, having been the h...

Richard Sharpe and the Expedition to Copenhagen, 1807. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe, newly returned to England, is offered a new job: go to Copenhagen, help deliver a bribe, and stop a war. To him, it seems easy. But the bribe is to stop the Danes allowing the French to possess their battle fleet, big enough to replace every warship lost at Trafalg...