The author behind Netflix’s best historical drama has a whole reading list worth tackling next

Arguably Cornwell’s most famous series, the Sharpe series follows Richard Sharpe, a British soldier fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. The first 11 books chronicle his experiences fighting in Peninsular War campaigns over the course of 6–7 years. A series of five prequel books depict Sharpe’s time in India. Altogether, Cornwell wrote a staggering 24 novels in this series, many of which can be read in any order the reader chooses. If you want to start from the beginning, the first published book is 1981’s Sharpe’s Eagle, while the first book in the chronology is 1997’s Sharpe’s Tiger.

The Sharpe series makes clear why Cornwell is such a compelling writer. He goes to great lengths to preserve historical detail, his depictions of historical battle scenes are exciting and immersive, and he has a winning lead character in Richard Sharpe, who starts off his journey a little rough around the edges before rising through the ranks based on grit and talent.

Before The Last Kingdom, Cornwell found success onscreen thanks to adaptations of his Sharpe books; 14 made-for-TV movies were produced between 1993 and 2008, all of them starring Sean Bean in. the lead role. A pair of specials bring the total count to 16.

Credit: St. Martin’s Griffin

While Sharpe is a sprawling affair, The Warlord Chronicles clocks in at just three books. It’s Cornwell’s attempt at interpreting the legend of King Arthur, but stripping out much of the romance and pageantry to imagine a version of the story that’s probably closer to how it actually went down, assuming King Arthur even was a real person in the first place.

What emerges are unforgettable, very human takes on characters like Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Cornwell engages with the mysticism of the King Arthur story a bit, which gives the series an epic fantasy flavor that could make it a good read if you’re one of the many fantasy fans out there tired of waiting for The Winds of Winter. And since this is just a trilogy, the story is relatively tight and concise.

MGM+ tried making a TV adaptation of The Warlord Chronicles in 2023, but unfortunately the show fell well short of the novels. Stick to the books with this one.

Credit: Harper

The Grail Quest consists of four books: Harlequin (2000), Vagabond (2002), Heretic (2003), and 1356 (2012). This time Cornwell is writing about the 14th century, near the start of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Our hero is Thomas of Hookton, an archer who joins the English army under Edward III and who finds his dominated by the quest to find the legendary Holy Grail, as well as other sacred artifacts.

The Grail Quest finds Cornwell in excellent form. Once, again, he paints a gritty, down-to-earth picture of a superstitious time, giving us a front-row seat to the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and teaching us a lot about the mechanics of longbow archery. Thomas is an engaging protagonist whose unrelenting drive ensures that the pacing never flags.

The Grail Quest books have not been adapted for the screen, but there’s always time.

Credit: Perennial/HarperCollins Publishers

As an Englishman, Cornwell mostly writes about European conflicts. He steers a little out of his lane for The Starbuck Chroncicles, a four-book series about the American Civil War.

The Starbuck Chronicles follow Nathaniel Starbuck, a Northerner who decides to fight for the South. All of Cornwell’s gifts are in evidence here: the battle scenes are exciting, the depiction of the Civil War-era American South is detailed and absorbing, and Starbuck himself is a fascinating protagonists with interesting contradictions.

Admittedly, some of Starbuck’s contradictions might put people off, but let it never be said that Cornwell can’t write complex characters. Also, The Starbuck Chronicles remain unfinished, and it’s possible that the 82-year-old Cornwell will never get around to it. It’s probably the weakest of Cornwell’s main book series, but still engrossing.

Credit: Harper Collins

Thanks to the success of The Last Kingdom, The Saxon Stories have arguably overtaken the Sharpe series as Cornwell’s most famous work. Next to the Sharpe books, The Saxon Stories is the longest series Cornwell has written, clocking in at 13 books. They tell the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who is born to a Saxon lord but raised by a Danish warlord. He ends up participating in some of the most important conflicts in England during the ninth and tenth centuries.

The Saxon Stories are worth reading even if you’ve seen The Last Kingdom, because there are plenty of details that the show leaves out. Plus, the books are more believable because they allow Uhtred to age. On the show, actor Alexander Dreymon looks pretty much the same at the end of the series as he does at the start, even though Uhtred grows from a young man to an old lord over the course of the saga.