Bernard Cornwell books in order
British writer
- Born
- 1944
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 78
- Series
- 5
Bernard Cornwell has published 70 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection and 6 other books, beginning with Sharpe's Gold (1981). The 5 series include Sharpe (25 books, starting with Sharpe's Tiger), The Saxon Stories (13 books, starting with The Last Kingdom) and The Starbuck Chronicles (4 books, starting with Rebel). The best-known is The Last Kingdom (2004). The latest is Sharpe's Storm (2025).
Updated September 2026
Sharpe books in order (25)Series page
Reading order: 1 Sharpe's Tiger (1997) · 2 Sharpe's Triumph (1998) · 3 Sharpe's Fortress (1998) · 4 Sharpe's Trafalgar (2000) · 5 Sharpe's Prey (2001) · 6 Sharpe's Rifles (1988) · 7 Sharpe's Havoc (2003) · 8 Sharpe's Eagle (1981) · 9 Sharpe's Gold (1981) · 10 Sharpe's Escape (2005) · … all 25 below
- 1.
Sharpe's Tiger (Jun 1997)
- 2.
Sharpe's Triumph (1998)
- 3.
Sharpe's Fortress (Nov 1998)
- 4.
Sharpe's Trafalgar (Apr 2000)
- 5.
Sharpe's Prey (Apr 2001)
- 6.
Sharpe's Rifles (1988)
- 7.
Sharpe's Havoc (2003)
- 8.
Sharpe's Eagle (Feb 1981)
- 9.
Sharpe's Gold (1981)
- 10.
Sharpe's Escape (2005)
- 11.
Sharpe's Fury (Aug 2006)
- 12.
Sharpe's Battle (May 1995)
- 13.
Sharpe's Company (May 1982)
- 14.
Sharpe's Command (2022)
- 15.
Sharpe's Sword (1983)
- 16.
Sharpe's Skirmish (2002)
- 17.
Sharpe's Enemy (Jan 1984)
- 18.
Sharpe's Honour (Jan 1985)
- 19.
Sharpe's Regiment (Jan 1986)
- 21.
Sharpe's Storm (2025)
- 22.
Sharpe's Siege (1987)
- 23.
Sharpe's Revenge (1989)
- 24.
Sharpe's Waterloo (Feb 1990)
- 25.
Sharpe's Assassin (2021)
- 27.
Sharpe's Devil (1990)
The Saxon Stories books in order (13)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Last Kingdom (2004) · 2 The Pale Horseman (2005) · 3 The Lords of the North (2006) · 4 Sword Song (2007) · 5 The Burning Land (2009) · 6 Death of Kings (2011) · 7 The Pagan Lord (2013) · 8 The Empty Throne (2014) · 9 Warriors of the Storm (2015) · 10 The Flame Bearer (2016) · … all 13 below
- 1.
The Last Kingdom (Oct 2004)
- 2.
The Pale Horseman (Oct 2005)
- 3.
The Lords of the North (May 2006)
- 4.
Sword Song (Sep 2007)
- 5.
The Burning Land (2009)
- 6.
Death of Kings (2011)
- 7.
The Pagan Lord (2013)
- 8.
The Empty Throne (Oct 2014)
- 9.
Warriors of the Storm (2015)
- 10.
The Flame Bearer (2016)
- 11.
War of the Wolf (2018)
- 12.
Sword of Kings (2019)
- 13.
War Lord (Oct 2020)
The Starbuck Chronicles books in order (4)Series page
Reading order: 1 Rebel (1993) · 2 Copperhead (1994) · 3 Battle Flag (1995) · 4 The Bloody Ground (1996)
- 1.
Rebel (1993)
- 2.
Copperhead (1994)
- 3.
Battle Flag (1995)
- 4.
The Bloody Ground (1996)
The Grail Quest books in order (4)Series page
Reading order: 1 Harlequin (2000) · 2 Vagabond (2002) · 3 Heretic (2003) · 4 1356 (2012)
- 1.
Harlequin (Oct 2000)
- 2.
Vagabond (Oct 2002)
- 3.
Heretic (Oct 2003)
- 4.
1356 (Sep 2012)
The Warlord Chronicles books in order (3)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Winter King (1995) · 2 Enemy of God (1996) · 3 Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (1997)
- 1.
The Winter King (Oct 1995)
- 2.
Enemy of God (Sep 1996)
- 3.
Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (1997)
Where to start with Bernard Cornwell
Start here
The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell's most-read book and the first of the 13 The Saxon Stories books.
Shortest way in
Sharpe's Tiger
One of the most-read, at about 384 pages.
Newest
Sharpe's Storm
Published 2025.
Standalone novels in order
Redcoat (1987)
Wildtrack (1988)
Killer's Wake (1989)
Sea Lord (1989)
Crackdown (1990)
Waterloo (1990)
Stormchild (1991)
Scoundrel (1992)
The Warlord Chronicles (1995)
Stonehenge (1999)
Gallows Thief (Oct 2001)
A Crowning Mercy (2003)
Thomas of Hookton Three-Book Set (Heretic, The Archer's Tale, Vagabond) (2003)
Fallen Angels (2004)
Azincourt (Oct 2008)
The Fort (Sep 2010)
The Warrior Chronicles 8 The Warrior Chronicles Book 8 (2014)
Last Kingdom Tie-In (2015)
Three Great English Victories (2015)
Fools and Mortals (2017)
Last Kingdom Series (the Last Kingdom Series) (2017)
Making of England 9 Pb [Mass Market Paperback] [Apr 19, 2018] Bernard Cornwell (2018)
Never Greater Slaughter (2021)
Short story collections in order
Sharpe's Christmas (2003)
Other books in order
Rebel And; Copperhead (1994)
Archer's Tale (2006)
Sharpe's Story (2007)
Saxon Tales Collection: Books #5-8 (2014)
Sharpe Collection: Books #12-15 (2014)
Film and TV adaptations
- Sharpe's Eagle (1993)Film · from Sharpe's Eagle
- Sharpe's Gold (1995)Film · from Sharpe's Gold
- Sharpe's Company (1994)Film · from Sharpe's Company
- Sharpe's Sword (1995)Film · from Sharpe's Sword
- Sharpe's Enemy (1994)Film · from Sharpe's Enemy
- Sharpe's Honour (1994)Film · from Sharpe's Honour
- Sharpe's Regiment (1996)Film · from Sharpe's Regiment
- Sharpe's Siege (1996)Film · from Sharpe's Siege
- Sharpe's Rifles (1993)Film · from Sharpe's Rifles
- Sharpe's Waterloo (1997)Film · from Sharpe's Waterloo
- Sharpe's Battle (1995)Film · from Sharpe's Battle
- The Winter KingTV · from The Winter King
About Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written The Saxon Stories, a series of thirteen novels about the unification of England.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Bernard Cornwell FAQ
- How many books has Bernard Cornwell written?
- Bernard Cornwell has published 70 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection and 6 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Bernard Cornwell's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Sharpe with Sharpe's Tiger, The Saxon Stories with The Last Kingdom and The Starbuck Chronicles with Rebel. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Bernard Cornwell's latest book?
- Sharpe's Storm (2025).
- What is Bernard Cornwell's most famous book?
- The Last Kingdom (2004) is Bernard Cornwell's most widely read book.
- Are Bernard Cornwell's books connected?
- 49 books belong to 5 series (Sharpe, The Saxon Stories, The Starbuck Chronicles and The Grail Quest); the other 29 books stand alone.
- Which Bernard Cornwell books have been adapted?
- 12 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Sharpe's Eagle (film, 1993), Sharpe's Gold (film, 1995), Sharpe's Company (film, 1994) and Sharpe's Sword (film, 1995).
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.