Movies vs Novels

I love Cornwell's books but I enjoy them separately. I think reading the books and watching the film is quite a handy and instrumental guide to adaptation - the stories have been scaled down cleverly and remain in the realm of plausibility on screen.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the films, because of the extra effort all the writers put it in to making rounded, interesting characters. In the books Sharpe doesn't let other characters get much of the limelight. The series can feel like an ensemble piece at times.

Some have some really big differences - compare TV's Battle with the novel. The climaxes are in two completely different locations. Different characters are alive/dead/present/existence. The stakes are different. The plan is different. It's hard to even compare the two stories. I have to prefer the TV version of Battle for sure of those two - Harper, Perkins, Kiley are all heroes. Sharpe's just there in the pack, whereas in the book he single-handedly wins the day.

Some stories, of course, don't quite work on telly. Regiment had the most difficult adaptation of all, I think...

I suspect the problem is that you have too many paperclips up your nose

That's why I recommend watching the series first then reading the books. I think people would tend to be disappointed in the shortfalls the series budget forced on it, but if you read the books later, you get filled in on any plot holes and since the books are so much more fleshed out, they seem like you're watching the show all over again, but with so many differences, it seems like a whole new story.

When translating any book to a visual medium, you need to consider what the primary thrust is. It's not really always what the common person thinks. After that is done, then the fat trimming comes. That's when you decide what's important and what isn't. Hence the reason books and te films upon which they're based tend to differ.

The original novels are outstanding. Cornwell's writing is exciting as well as educational. You will learn gobs of historical information, just through the plot and dialog. When I first began reading the series, I read all of the then-published books, back-to-back. I believe there were twelve, at the time, beginning with Sharpe's Rifles through Sharpe's Waterloo. I read them all in one month. I was so intrigued by them, and the history in general, that it inspired one of my most cherished historical miniature projects:

http://gregheilers.net/sharpe.html

Much later, I tried to begin reading the novels that had been written since then. Sadly, I could not get into them. I am afraid I burned myself out, by reading the first twelve in such a quick time-span.

:-(