Sharpe's Siege

1814. A naval and infantry force sails up the French coast to take a fort. The real goal, Colonel Elphinstone says, is the boats sheltering under its guns, to build a bridge over the Adour. Navy captain Bampfylde changes the plan. Sharpe takes the fort with Harper and Captain Frederickson, captures American privateer Killick and frees him on his oath. The Comte de Maquerre, working for Ducos, convinces Bampfylde that Sharpe has fallen, and the navy abandons the fort. Surrounded by a force ten times his size, Sharpe holds out by throwing quicklime at the attackers and escapes on Killick's ship. He exposes Bampfylde and kills Maquerre. Jane only had a cold, but Hogan has died of fever.

1. ChangeNo sea, no privateer

   TV drops the naval plot and American privateer Killick. Bampfylde goes from navy captain to the regiment's commander.

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2. ChangeAn extra sister

   The film creates Catherine, the Comte de Maquerre's sister, who stays at the fort and catches Sharpe's eye.

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3. ChangeA real fever

   In the book, Jane only has a cold, and it's Hogan who dies of fever. On TV, Ross replaces Hogan, Jane really falls ill and quinine becomes a subplot.

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4. ChangeMaquerre's end

   In the book, Sharpe kills Maquerre. On TV, Maquerre stays with the French and Hagman picks him off from a distance.

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