Bernard Cornwell OBE (born February 23, 1944) is a prolific and popular English historical novelist. As a child he was adopted by a family by the name of Wiggins. After he left them he changed his name to his mother's maiden name, Cornwell. Cornwell is most famous for his Sharpe series of novels; later made into a popular Television Series featuring Sean Bean as the eponymous hero Richard Sharpe. The Sharpe Novels follow the rise of Richard Sharpe a Private raised from the ranks of the King's Army by Arthur Welsley (Wellington) during the Napoleonic era. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.