Napoleon Bonaparte is the overarching antagonist of the Richard Sharpe novels and television series. He personally appears in the television adaptation of Sharpe's Honour, the novel and television adaptation of Sharpe's Waterloo and the novel Sharpe's Devil.
In Sharpe's Honour, he was played by Ron Cook, who also played Wilf in Inside No. 9 and Mr. Magpie in Doctor Who. In Sharpe's Waterloo, he was played by an uncredited actor.
Biography[]
Novels[]
Napoleon would have his first direct encounter with the British army commanded by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, where he personally led the army that fought the British, Dutch and Belgian troops, along with the late arriving Prussians. Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Sharpe took command of the Prince of Wales' Own Volunteers to help turn back the advance of two columns of Imperial Guard late in the battle. He caught a glimpse of Napoleon as the French retreated from the battle.
Five years later, Sharpe and his friend Patrick Harper visited Napoleon in his exile on Saint Helena, along with a Spanish ship's crew, while en route to South America. Napoleon was intrigued by Sharpe, who spoke French having taken up residence in the country and who had once worked with the Bonaparte loyalist General Calvet. He asked Sharpe to pass on a portrait to an admirer of his in South America. Unknown to Sharpe at the time, the portrait actually contained a message to the Chile resistance. As Sharpe would eventually learn, the renegade British officer Admiral Cochrane had struck a deal with Napoleon to free him from his exile and install him as the ruler of a new state in South America. Napoleon was indirectly responsible for the disappearance of Sharpe's friend Don Blas Vivar, having mistaken him for his brother Tomas Vivar who had worked for Napoleon, a misunderstanding that led to Cochrane taking Vivar prisoner when he opposed to the plan.
Some months later, when they were on their way back to Europe, Sharpe, Harper and Vivar stopped off at the island only to learn Napoleon had died and Cochrane's plan had come to nothing.
Television[]
Napoleon at Waterloo
While his army was retreating from Russia, Napoleon was met by intelligence officer Major Pierre Ducos. Ducos had a plan to end the war in Spain, by convincing the Spanish to end their alliance with the British and restoring the Bourbon king Ferdinand to the throne. While he was reluctant to take the throne from his brother Joseph, Napoleon saw the wisdom of the idea. Ducos admitted part of his motivation was revenge on Major Richard Sharpe, who he revealed had captured a French eagle standard touched by Napoleon himself. Napoleon told Ducos to make sure Sharpe's luck ran out.
Probably unknowingly, Napoleon would meet Colonel Sharpe in battle at Waterloo two years later, where Sharpe took command of the Prince of Wales' Own Volunteers in the closing stages of the battle and repelled an attack from the Imperial Guard with volley fire. As Sharpe led his new regiment in driving off the French, his friend Patrick Harper pointed out Napoleon among the retreating French soldiers, the first time they had seen him in all their years fighting against his army.
