I never watched Sharpe, Mum, so it's now on the list - thank you!
Here, on the shelves, is the 'quadrology' of 'A dance to the music of time' by Anthony Powell.
Years ago, a daughter recommended the TV adaptation, and we were hooked, and I bought the series on DVD to watch again only recently. Mrs Growster wasn't that interested to see it again, and after seeing the first DVD, (small portable player with earphones), someone in the comments online said that you need to read the books first, as there are over seventy characters, so here we are...
Each book (Ebay), is around 750 pages, and I'm halfway through the first one, so may be some time!