Cornwell brings back Sharpe after 15 years

Bernard Cornwell is bringing back his famous Richard Sharpe character after 15 years' absence, for a new adventure with HarperCollins this autumn.

The publication of Sharpe's Assassin on 30th September will also mark the 40th anniversary of the brilliant but wayward soldier's inaugural appearance, in 1981's Sharpe's Eagle (Harper).

HarperCollins, which has world English-language rights for the title in an existing deal, said the new book will take the reader on “an historical escapade” with Sharpe after he survives the battlefields of Waterloo.

Cornwell said: “It is a pleasure for me to be with Sharpe again. He sprang back into my mind as if he had never been away. I am enjoying it, and trust you will too.”

The Sharpe novels have sold 20 million copies around the world, according to the publisher. In the UK, in the Nielsen BookScan era alone they have shifted 3.3 million units for £23.3m.

Cornwell is a prolific storyteller with a passion for history; his current series The Last Kingdom is now a Netflix TV show, with the author himself making a cameo in series three. He is also the author of The Grail Quest series, set during the Hundred Years’ War, The Warlord Chronicles, set in Arthurian Britain, and a number of standalone novels. In total, he has sold 9.7 million books for £71m since 1998 through Nielsen BookScan.

HarperCollins UK c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne said: “I am one of Bernard’s biggest fans and the news of Sharpe’s return means I can forgive him for bringing his epic Uhtred saga to a close. I can’t wait to read Sharpe’s Assassin, and I know his countless readers will share my excitement.”