Richard Sharpe reading order

A plan for the whole series

25 volumes, 8,098 pages, about 150 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 16, “Sharpe's Triumph” (by 43%). Plan your break after volume 15, before the series plans it for you.

Stages

9 stages, with 8 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around July 7, 2027, about 8 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 115 h20 daysby November 18, 2026

   • 1. Sharpe's Eagle1981 · 288 pages · 5 h
   • 2. Sharpe's Gold1981 · 256 pages · 5 h
   • 3. Sharpe's Company1982 · 288 pages · 5 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 22, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 218 habout 3 weeksby December 16, 2026

   • 4. Sharpe's Sword1983 · 319 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Sharpe's Enemy1984 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 6. Sharpe's Honour1985 · 320 pages · 6 h
4. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 20, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 319 habout 4 weeksby January 14, 2027

   • 7. Sharpe's Regiment1986 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 8. Sharpe's Siege1987 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 9. Sharpe's Rifles1988 · 352 pages · 6 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 420 habout 4 weeksby February 14, 2027

   • 10. Sharpe's Revenge1989 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 11. Sharpe's Waterloo1990 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 12. Sharpe's Devil1990 · 358 pages · 7 h
8. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by February 23, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 515 h21 daysby March 16, 2027

   • 18.5. Sharpe's Christmas1994 · 68 pages · 1 h
   • 14. Sharpe's Battle1995 · 390 pages · 7 h
   • 15. Sharpe's Tiger1997 · 384 pages · 7 h
10. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by March 25, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 615 h20 daysby April 14, 2027

    • 16. Sharpe's Triumph1998 · 381 pages · 7 h
    • 17. Sharpe's Fortress1998 · 366 pages · 7 h
    • 14.5. Sharpe's Skirmish1999 · 61 pages · 1 h
12. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by April 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 720 habout 4 weeksby May 14, 2027

    • 19. Sharpe's Trafalgar2000 · 368 pages · 7 h
    • 20. Sharpe's Prey2001 · 337 pages · 6 h
    • 21. Sharpe's Havoc2003 · 384 pages · 7 h
14. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by May 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 820 habout 4 weeksby June 20, 2027

    • 22. Sharpe's Escape2005 · 370 pages · 7 h
    • 23. Sharpe's Fury2006 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 24. Sharpe's Assassin2021 · ≈ 324 pages · 6 h
16. BreakFlowers for Algernon · Daniel Keyes · 274 pp. · score 8.85 h, by June 29, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 96 h8 daysby July 7, 2027

    • 25. Sharpe's Command2023 · ≈ 324 pages · 6 h
18. The end of the series

    July 7, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: Sharpe's Eagle (8.1, 59 ratings). Weakest: Sharpe's Triumph (7.9). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 15 and 16: 43%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.1) scores close to the series average or above it.