Regarding the below questions and answers Q: Hi Bernard. I am fascinated with the Sharpe books. I have always had a keen eye with history, and Sharpe has widened the horizons. I love the way that, in mainly revenge and Waterloo, we see the true character of Jane Gibbons, and how her character really acts in other company than Sharpe’s/ I have just finished Waterloo, without reading fury, christmas, skirmish or Ransom sadly. But I will pounce on them soon. I have a few questions about Sharpe. Firstly, as many a reader has seen, the films sometimes veer away form the books. What happens to Harris in Waterloo? In the film he dies trying to save Hagman, who in turn dies, but in the book we only hear of Hagman getting shot in the lung. Also, where did Cooper and Perkins go? I just didn’t hear of them after. And this goes into a historical extent, what is the difference between a brigade and demi brigade? Calvet was supposed to have commanded a brigade, but demi-brigade couldn’t be half a brigade. And lastly, General Calvet seems very nice and cheerful towards Sharpe in the films, whereas, in Sharpe’s Revenge, his mouth seems to be as dirty as a barrel full of wattle and dorb. He doesn’t seem very friendly. And also, did Tom Garrard, Sharpe’s friend from the 33rd, rise up from the ranks. I think we saw him as a Lieutenant in the Cazadores battalion, he was a private in the 33rd, so, is he a “jolly jumper”. Your books are great. Regards, Andrew Walter

A: Harris was actually invented by the film people and I slipped him into some of the novels written after the TV films were made – so he hadn’t been thought of when I wrote Sharpe’s Waterloo. In the film he dies at Waterloo, so I suspect that’s his fate! Was Cooper killed or merely wounded? Sorry, I don’t remember at the moment. I think Perkins is alive. It’s a terrible error in that book, sheer carelessness, all my fault, and I hoped I would die without anyone discovering it, and now you have, and I’m crushed. A demi-brigade was a full sized brigade, but composed of half experienced troops and half raw recruits. Got that off my chest. I’m honestly not responsible for the depiction of characters in the films (though I think most are done splendidly), so I’ll stick by my description of Calvet in the book. And yes, Tom Garrard is a jolly jumper.

Cooper was wounded in the series and recovered to do a one off “story of” type tv show. Perkins was killed in the tv series by the Irish Guardsman O’Rourke in Sharpe’s Battle. Tom Gerrard was a Sergeant who opted for a commission in the Portuguese army under the British reorganisation. Think he met his end in the novel Sharpe’s Battle which was quite different from the film. Nigel James