Bulletin Board

Hi Bernard,

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016.  Just wanted to pass along my congrats to the recent Netflix series The Last Kingdom.  Between you and I, I prefer the books much more to the series, but the series is pretty good on it's on merit.  I'm sure as an author, it must be a nice moment to see your work turned into a series.

As a fan, I remember first picking up your book in the airport on yet another business trip.  Once I got past a few pages, I was hooked, and have purchased every book since then.

Please keep up the great work on this!  I look forward to more great works from you!.

Warmest regards,

Pierre Alexandre

 

Mr.  Cornwell,

you have shaped me as a person and I'm grateful for your literature. When I was eleven I read a copy of The Last Kingdom that my grumpy had purchased and ever since I've purchased and read each installment along with most of your other novels with the exception of the Sharpe series. You are excellent, thank you

Ian Pellerin

I don't mean to be picky, but I meant that Fraser hadn't written his COMPLETE memoirs (i.e. from cradle to publication).  I am aware of and own the two books you mentioned (I own hardcover editions of all of Fraser's work) and they are as great as you say, but are far from giving us the complete story of his life and they just left me hungry for more!

Jim Dickey

I admire ALL your books, and the research that went into them. However:

In "Sharpe's Rifles", when peasants are sworn in by Vivar, he gives Ferdinand VII an incorrect title - "Most Christian Majesty" is the French king. Spanish is "Most Catholic", (and Portuguese is "Most Faithful").

Perhaps you can modify it in future editions.

Again, thank you for all your wonderful work.

Anton Sachs

I love your books! I am bestselling author of non-fiction in Brazil, but don't have the knack for writing fiction. Your historical fiction is fantastic, and I've read virtually every book you've ever published.

My comment though is this: Uhtred was a huge man in the books, and a fantastic warrior, a great fighter. In the movies, they've made him into a small guy, who is only a fair fighter. Problem is that Uhtred's demeanor is based on being an incredible warrior, and huge guy. So this has really messed up the TV series, I am deeply frustrated. This is not the same Uhtred from the books. The Uhtred arrogance only works when he's one of the 2 or 3 best fighters in England. Now as just a normal guy, and mediocre fighter in the TV series, his behavior makes no sense at all. Why did you let them do this?

Gary Haynes

Having just ordered the 9th in the series, I'm prompted to finally write you in support of Uhtred's recovery in The Empty Throne.

It sounded like you sort of had to get permission from a physician.

Speaking as a veterinarian of some 40 years' experience, I can tell you that given that state of 'medicine' in those days that the most likely scenario is a bony sequestrum.  I haven't seen many of those over the years but I have seen them and a broken off piece of rib would make an ideal piece of bone to get devitalized and cause the problems you describe.  Nice draining tract, abscess underneath, lots of nasty infection...dog feels crappy...wound will never heal until you get that thing out of there.  Slice it open, pack it with honey (which makes a nice topical antibiotic) and the chances of healing improve greatly.  You may have heard this from somebody else already but that was my instant thought when I read those passages.  Brilliant.

Bruce Bell DVM

Just finished Warriors of the Storm - this series just gets better and better. Pleased to see that the modern Scotland England border has now gone from the map since it was an anachronism. Meanwhile Uhtred's knowledge of Britain north of Northumbria continues to grow, but so far not much better than his contemporaries who often   casually and carelessly wrote of 'the Scots'  without understanding that only one of the old kingdoms in Northern GB which will one day become Scotland was 'Scot-land' or the 'land of the Scots'.

Strath Clota, the base of the old British or 'Welsh', rightly gets a mention but not yet Lothian. Yet for Uhtred to visit Anglo-Saxon Lothian (The former kingdom of Bernicia/northern Northumbria) would I think prove interesting - not least since it was as if, in the words of James Campbell, the leading historian of the Anglo-Saxon state, “there are two Englands and one of them is called Scotland.”

Do keep up the good work - marvelous!

Steve Ainsworth

 

Dear Bernard , something slightly different I hope!

I live near Fort William in the Highlands , have an amateur interest in local history . Very close to where we live there is an elegant obelisk that commemorates a local hero who was killed at Quatre Bras . I was aware that this year(2015) was going to be the 200th anniversary of this occasion , and set out early to attempt to have much needed conservation work undertaken on this monument before that date . With fund raising and associated red tape to deal with and underway , it occurred to me that I had very little basic knowledge about this period and the Napoleonic Wars  . I did buy your latest book about Waterloo and found this excellent , and other bits and pieces about Napoleon (and his women ) , but then stumbled on Patrick O'Brian and this same period and read them all . While browsing for these , I was lucky to pick up Sharpe's Waterloo , and struck gold !  I finished this and felt like I had actually been there , amazing .  My project by then had  legs and managed to raise £17000 to have the conservation work carried out , funding mostly from the Centennial War Memorials Project ( ideally aimed at 1st/2nd World War memorials ) and the balance from the Gordon Highlanders Regimental Assoc. plus local Clan Cameron's. We had a very pleasing local occasion on the 200th anniversary of the demise of Colonel John Cameron , on 16th June , when he lost his life at Quatre Bras in command of the 92nd Highland Regiment , or Gordon Highlanders as they were known . The emphasis was also on the men from Lochaber who had been with him through these campaigns. We had the local Pipe Band ,and rededicated the monument .  Subsequently , I have immersed myself in Sharpe's adventures through this period , and have emerged as if I had been a witness , and somewhat exhausted !!  I just wish to express my appreciation for this experience , and the admiration for your research and imagination which has made my education an enjoyable journey. Anything since has not been in the same class .

Roddy Mainland.

PS . There is a 'memoir' written about Colonel John Cameron , by a local Minister and about fifty years after Waterloo . It is the best recorded information about his life and career , but leaning toward being sycophantic as he was the family Minister . The descendants of this family did not contribute to the conservation project !

 

I saw a gravestone at the church on  Studland in Dorset, behind the bankes arms Pub. The chaps name was Serjeant(thats how it is spelled on the stone), William Lawrence of the 40th foot.

Fought in South America, 1805, fought the throughout the peninsular war, 1808 -13, 10 clasps for battles and was part of the forlorn hope at Badajoz where he was gravely wounded. He also fought at Waterloo.

He married acFrenchwoman during the occupation of France, and they both died in Purbeck.

He sounded like a chap in a million, if you have not heard of him I have a photo of his gravestone if you are interested.

Loved the Sharpe  series.

Douglas Grieve

Thanks Mr. Cornwell.

I'm not fluent in English (Sorry about that). I'm just sending a message to thank you for your books. I bought a pack of Six books (Saxon Stories). I thought i would take ages to read all of them, but for my surprise i found it amazingly good. In three months I have read all of six and i'm waiting for the rest to be delivered in my house.

Oh, and i'm from Brazil. I would love to know more about my past. I'm adopted and raised in a Italian family. My adopted family I have archived a lot of information about and found where they came from Italy. Unfortunately my blood isn't Italian and i have no clue about my ''real'' past, even if i consider my adopted family my real family. After reading the 6th book and reading your comments about your past generations, made me a little more curious about my real past...

Thanks again and cheers from Brazil (hope you at least read this comment someday).

Like we say in Brazil, Tenha uma ótima semana (have a nice week).

Leonardo Zanella