Bulletin Board

Hi Bernard

.... just a quick note of thanks.... you are probably used to these... You have regularly sent me back in time and from the age of 22 got me back into books again... Your ability to put the reader right there in the thick of the action is second to none. (The first fight scene by Arthur observed from under a table in The Winter King always springs to mind) I have recommended you to a lot of my friends and from their reports you haven't let me down so far. This very neatly brings me on to my request.....  can you please try not to die.... at least not before me.  I am 32 and I understand that you are considerably older than me so this may be a rather tall order. Although Simon Scarrow is incredibly good, he doesn't yet make the grade of the master so finding a replacement will prove quite hard, I would much prefer to enjoy your yearly offerings right into my old age or at least until my memory, or lack of it, allows me to continuously reread you books.  As this is probably one of many letters you have received today I will let you crack on...... keep up the good work rekindling peoples love of history and touching peoples lives more than you will probably ever know.....

All the best..

Matt

Like you I am a Brit, who now lives in the USA.  In the 20 years I had then been married to my wife, she had rarely if ever, seen me read a book.  I daily read a newspaper and other articles, but never a novel.

For Christnas of 2012, Jeannie bought me a Kindle, and as an experiment I downloaded one of your Sharpe novels, since I had seen it on TV and always enjoyed the series.

Well one book led to another and last month, I finished every novel that you have written and read some twice.  I am anxiously waiting for the new book in September and will take it with me on an upcoming trip to France.

The point of my writing is to say a great big thank you for your skill and ability in putting together a story which I find exciting and captivating.  From the historic to the "modern day" sailing books I consume the stories avidly in a short time and then get the next one.

I suppose now I shall have to find another author to fill in the time before September 13th.  I hope I can find one who is somewhere near your talent on story telling.

Thank you for what you do.  It is a rare and wonderful gift that you share with  the rest of us.

Sincerely

Ken Brown

Dear Mr Cornwell,
Paid a visit to Stratfield Saye (Wellington's country estate from about 1817) today. Amongst the thousands of antique books -many purchased from Napoleon's former Library - it was good to see a copy of Sharpe's Fury!
Jeremy Ramsey

Dear Mr Cornwell,
I had a feeling you must be a basically good man, but reading that you regularly act in your local dram soc in Chatham (any Dickens connection?) only confirms my hunch.
Break a leg! (Was an actor myself for 20 years.)
Regards, and may you write & write...
Glyn

I just wanted to contact you to say thank you. I'm in my early 20s, and up until this point I had never read a book other than occasional childrens books. I first heard about your book, The Last Kingdom, through a friend and admittedly I only read it because I am interested in vikings and the era in which the book is set. The book was definitely the best first "adult read" I could have chosen and I finished it in a day and a half, and soon the rest of the series will follow.

You're a great writer and you've earned a fan and many recommendations, and I look forward to picking up your other works and all future ones.
Michael

Hey Mr. Cornwell
Just wanted to let you know I am enjoying your books and I think you are a fantastic storyteller.  Thanks!
Daren

Just finished the Arthur books. What fun stories they were to read!!!
I've read the Saxon Tales, Stonehenge and the Arthur stories and loved them all!
I was late to the Cornwell Cosmologies, and I'm glad that I was, now - I've got so much more to look forward to with your other tales!
My favorite part of your storytelling is the "voice" that you use to tell the tales, e.g., Derfel and Uhtred, or the omniscient view of Stonehenge. It really facilitates the readers' immersion into the world of the characters.
Being a U.S. Southerner, I really appreciate a tale well told - not that other regions around the world don't appreciate it, too. Storytelling, both heroic and tragic, is just sort of a cultural thing in the South (All ethnicities and backgrounds, of which there are many). I'm sure your Charleston contemporaries can spin quite a yarn with their Charleston accents and their Charleston point of view of the world - The Ashely and Cooper Rivers join to form the Atlantic, after all. Just ask a native!
Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting "The Pagan Lord" and will probably reread the Saxon Tales leading up to the U.S. publication date. In the meantime, I may have to avoid your message boards following the British release for fear of spoiler comments and questions. I wouldn't blame anyone, though - the notes would be posted out of enthusiasm for the story!
Cheers!
- Dalton

Mr. Cornwell,
I fist stumbled upon the first few books of the Sharpe series in the late 1980s and snapped them up.  Since then I have collected the entire series, including the short stories, as well as all the Saxon Tales and Grail Quest series.  I have a few others.  I teach history at a community college and from time to time students come to me looking for a lighter read than standard non-fiction for a time period.  Your series are among those of less than a half-dozen authors I recommend to my students.  I've never had a dissatisfied referral...

My other reason for writing is a historical accuracy error I discovered in your new "1356" novel...  On page 70, Thomas is at the papal palace in Avignon, in dialogue with the painter.  The painter mentions there are two popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome...  I read that passage three times, asking myself, "why does that not sound right?"  Finally, I looked it up.  The Great Western Schism began with the antipope election of Clement VII by the defecting French cardinals in 1378, more than 20 years after this novel's action takes place.

Please, this is not intended as a "gotcha", but an acknowledgement of the depth of detail that has to be checked and rechecked and checked again.  Frankly, I'm surprised historical writers don't make MORE errors...

Again, my thanks to you for several incredible series.  I look forward to what else with which you will delight us.

Sincerely,
Brian Croteau

Hello Bernard,
Recently returning from Germany, I skirted around Belgium and called by to see the Lion Mound, a place where I visited some 20 years ago. I found that the site stills exists as scruffy and run down as it did then. My main reason for the visit was to see Hougoumont to see if it was in such a bad state as I had heard and sadly it was. Roof's broken and walls crumbling how have we left it to fall into such a bad state. It deserves better remembrance than just an old plaque in the memory of the 2nd footguards. We as a nation must do something, return it to its 1815 condition and give it some atmosphere for all to visit and respect!
Kind regards,
Richard Adams

Sea Lord - I very much like your character of the British noble who came back to claim his inheritance, and his love for the beautiful, scarred, lady. More novels with them would be appreciated. I love your Sharpe novels, but I have not been able to get into your other genres, other than this book (it's okay--I could never get into ANY of David Gemmell's novels--although everyone said that they were great)

Gargan