Differences from the original novel:
- Sharpe fights his duel against Horace Bampfylde, after a feud between the two after the events of Sharpe's Siege. The duel takes place before the morning of the battle, and Sharpe's poor aim with the pistol causes Bampfylde's wound to the buttocks.
- Sharpe serves as Maj. Gen. Nairn's aide during the Battle of Toulouse. While Maj. Gen. Ross (based off of Nairn in the books) got away from the battle with only a leg wound, Nairn was killed by a bullet to the lungs.
- Col. Maillot was killed by Maj. Ducos and Sgt. Challon before the Battle of Toulouse. Sharpe and Ducos do not encounter each other during the battle.
- The reasons for Sharpe and Frederickson's arrests are elaborated upon in the book. A letter forged by Ducos revealed that Napoleon's treasure was at the Teste de Buch defended by Sharpe during the events of Sharpe's Siege. Sharpe and Frederickson are accused of stealing the gold from the fortress for their own gain (disputed by Sharpe at the trial due to the sheer weight of it all), with damning evidence coming from the vast fortune obtained by Sharpe at Vitoria and the telescope given by Napoleon to his brother Joseph, also stolen by Sharpe at Vitoria.
- Col. Henri Lassan from Sharpe's Siege is the brother of Lucille Castineau, not Col. Maillot. Lassan's mother the Dowager Countess Lassan is also present, and is killed alongside Lassan by Ducos' men.
- Capt. Peter d'Alembord accompanies Harper to England, where Harper gets horse-whipped by Lord Rossendale.
- Lucille wounds Sharpe with three bullets from a horse pistol. While one of the bullets lodged in his thigh, another one got him in the shoulder and another sliced the top of his ear. Furthermore, Sharpe felt nothing but hatred for Madame Lucille during the first few months of his stay.
- Frederickson finds out Maj. Ducos' location by examining records in Paris. The records led him to Ducos' eyeglass maker, who then directs Frederickson to Naples.
- Gen. Calvet is directed by Napoleon to recover the treasure from Ducos. He meets with Sharpe, Frederickson and Harper at Naples.
- Along with the dragoons and grasshopper gun, Ducos' villa is guarded by two fierce dogs, both wounded by Sharpe during the capture of the villa.
- Ducos was captured inside the villa. The Cardinal's soldiers arrived under command of a Neapolitan colonel.
- In the end, Ducos was executed by firing squad and buried in a ditch.
- Frederickson did not learn about Sharpe and Lucille's expected child until he departed for London. The two were left on bad terms, and never reconciled as far as the novels go.
Colonel Wigram uses a gavel at the court martial.This is incorrect & a common mistake. British judges do not use one. Only American judges or auctioneers.
This episode takes place in 1814.
While the John Tams version of 'Over the Hills and Far Away' is based on George Farquhar's version of the song, popularized in his play 'The Recruiting Officer' from 1706, Thomas D'Urfey wrote at least 2 earlier versions of lyrics for 'Over the Hills and Far Away', one for his play 'The Campaigners' (1698) and another for his 'Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy'.
The 'Campaigners' versions was never actually included in the final draft of the play, but became known as a song of its own, 'The Distracted Jockey's Lamentations', which talks about a beautiful, blonde and unfaithful wife ('Jenny fair'), mirroring Jane in the movie. ('Although she promised to be true/ she proven has, alas, unkind/ Which gars poor Jockey often rue/ that ever he loved a fickle mind/ 'Tis over the hills and far way.../ The wind has blown my plaid away).
Sharpe has been faithful to his wife, despite numerous opportunities to the contrary. It is only after he hears from Harper about Jane's infidelity that he goes to see Lucille.
John Benfield replaces Oliver Pierre as General Calvet.