In Richard Sharpe, Bernard Cornwell has created one of the great heroes of historical fiction, whose exploits continue to thrill a wide audience. The novels, and the television adaptations starring Sean Bean, have succeeded in whetting the appetite of many readers for one of the most eventful and exciting periods in history. Packed with illustrations, historical and military background and contemporary accounts and anecdotes, "The Sharpe Companion" provides a guide to the life and times of Richard Sharpe. Since the original companion was published, Sharpe has marched on. His exploits are now too many to fit into a single volume, so this volume focuses on the first 30 years of Sharpe's life: his boyhood in London, his experiences as a recruit and his rise through the ranks during the Indian campaigns, the special mission that took him to Denmark and his part in the Battle of Trafalgar.