''Sharpe's Revenge'' is a British

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

, the 12th of a series that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The adaptation is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

Plot summary

Sharpe participates in the Battle of Toulouse, at the end of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. On the other side are French General Calvet (

John Benfield Jonathan Edmund Fulford "John" Turner (9 November 1951 – 16 June 2020), better known by his stage name John Benfield, was a British character actor. Biography Benfield appeared in 75 television episodes or films starting in 1981 with small pa ...

) and Sharpe's nemesis, Ducos (

Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...

), who is in charge of Napoleon's treasury. During the fighting, Sharpe encounters and humiliates Ducos, but lets him escape with his life. Napoleon loses the war and is sent into exile. Before the battle, Sharpe gives his wife Jane (

Abigail Cruttenden Abigail Lucy Cruttenden (born 23 March 1968) is an English actress. Cruttenden played opposite Sean Bean as his character Richard Sharpe's wife Jane in several episodes of the TV series '' Sharpe.'' In 2007, Cruttenden joined the cast from the ...

)

power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

over his entire fortune of 10,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where ...

, just in case. She extracts a promise from him that this will be his last fight, that he will ask

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

for a transfer back to England. However, Sharpe is insulted by another British officer; forgetting his promise, he exacts revenge by shooting the officer in the buttocks in a duel. Infuriated, Jane is persuaded by her friend Lady Molly Spindacre (

Connie Hyde Connie Skov Hyde (born 15 November 1969) is an English actress. Hyde was born to an English father and Danish mother. She grew up in Haslingden in Rossendale, Lancashire. She is best known for playing PC Cathy Bradford in ''The Bill'' from 2 ...

) to run away to London to spend some of her husband's money. Things get out of hand when Jane becomes infatuated with the handsome Lord Rossendale (

Alexis Denisof Alexis Denisof (born February 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is primarily known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spin-off ''Angel''. He also had a recurring role on ''How I Met You ...

). After they become lovers, he convinces her to invest her money in various projects and pay off his gambling debts. Eventually, she runs out of money, at which point her "friend" Molly deserts her. Meanwhile, Ducos is ordered by Calvet to take the treasure to Paris, but with the war lost, steals it instead, framing Sharpe for the theft and murder of the guards. Sharpe is brought before a military tribunal and jailed pending the arrival of a purported witness, Colonel Maillot ( Stéphane Cornicard), the officer in charge of the treasure's escort. In actuality, the Frenchman had rebuffed Ducos' offer to share the loot and had gone home to

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in disgust. Sharpe's friends Sergeant Patrick Harper (

Daragh O'Malley Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director and producer. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. Among many TV appearances O'Malley is known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–2009 ...

) and Captain Frederickson (

Philip Whitchurch Philip Whitchurch (born 30 January 1951) is an English stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for playing Captain William Frederickson in three episodes of the Sharpe series between 1994-1997 and the role of Chief Inspector Philip ...

) break him out of prison and all three head off to find Maillot. They arrive too late; Ducos has had him murdered shortly before to cover his tracks. Sharpe is wounded by Maillot's widowed sister, Madame Lucille DuBert (

Cécile Paoli Cécile Paoli is a French actress who is also well known on British television from the series '' Sharpe'', '' Bergerac'', and ''Holby City''. She starred as Françoise in a four-part television BBC mini-series in 1980 of the H.E. Bates novel, F ...

), when she mistakes him for one of her brother's killers. While he recuperates, they become romantically involved, to the dismay of Captain Frederickson who had been interested in Madame DuBert. In Paris, Frederickson learns the whereabouts of Ducos and is contacted by Calvet. Sharpe joins forces with the Frenchman and his loyal Imperial guardsmen. Together, they storm Ducos' fortress in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Sharpe shoots his nemesis at long range and Calvet recovers the treasure. Between them, Calvet and Madame DuBert clear Sharpe's name.

Cast

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of '' Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ...

– Major Richard Sharpe *

– Sergeant Major Patrick Harper *

– Jane Sharpe *

– Captain

William Frederickson William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

– Madame Lucille DuBert *

– Lord Rossendale *

– Major Pierre Ducos *

James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...

– Major General Ross *

– General Calvet *

– Lady Molly Spindacre * Tom Hodgkins – Wigram * Stéphane Cornicard – Colonel Maillot * Phil Smeeton – Sergeant Challon * Michael Fitzgerald – Major Salmon *

Milton Johns John Robert Milton (born 13 March 1938), known professionally as Milton Johns, is an English character actor who has worked almost continuously throughout his career. A versatile talent, he specialises in sinister or obsequious roles and has f ...

– Hopkinson *

Paul Brooke Paul Brooke (born 22 November 1944) is a retired English actor of film, television and radio. He made his film debut in 1972 in the Hammer film '' Straight on till Morning'', followed by performances in '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), ''Return ...

– Roland *

Leon Lissek Leon Lissek (19 January 1939 – 13 January 2022) was an Australian-born British actor. He appeared in over 80 films in his career, which started with ''Marat/Sade''. Lissek was well known for his television roles in ''The Sullivans'' and '' Ea ...

- Juliot

Home video

The first 14 episodes of the series were released on DVD by BFS Entertainment on 24 April 2001.

References

External links

* {{Bernard Cornwell 1997 British television episodes 1990s historical films 1990s war films Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Napoleonic Wars films

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

War television films Fiction set in 1814 Films directed by Tom Clegg (director)