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My father's name was Ughtred. His father thought there was a family connection to the Shuttleworths of Gawthorp Hall, near Blackburn, Lancashire, whose first sons were named Ughtred.
He was an academic mathematician whose research was in topics that are the basis of the computer and cell phone hardware and software we use. When at war he spent his time teaching navigation to air force recruits at Oxford and supporting Engima decoding schemes at Bletchley Park. A bit different from your hero...
Unfortunately he did not enjoy the name  particularly. He decreed that no descendant of his should ever be named after him - I never knew my mother to call him by his given name.
I already knew that Ughtred is an old Saxon name. Your hero's name was only a mild extra inducement to read your excellent novels.

Best regards
Tom Haslam-Jones

Mr Cornwell,

I am a life long (age 63) avid reader of a great many diverse titles and writers, both fiction and non. I love your stories and love history. For my dough, Uhtred is the best character in all of fiction. He is wonderful, I only wish he were real and could shake my hand. I would love to see him brought to life on the screen, Russell Crowe at his best could pull it off. I hope you write his story for many more years. Thank you for the many hours of enertainment and enlightenment.
Edward Harness

I have nearly finished reading Grail Quest, & I feel that if made into a series of films they would knock Star Wars, Hatry Potter, & star trek into a cocked hat. Perhaps the French, & Scots would care for such films -- I Am English -so what!

Edd. Nield

Dear Mr Cornwell,
Please, please, please write some more Starbuck books!
I have read all your books, most of them several times. I am very interested in the American Civil War and a big fan of the Starbuck Chronicles.
I have been waiting years and years for you to pick up the story which you left with the words "Starbuck will march again" at the end of the Battle of Sharpsburg. I have just read "The Bloody Ground" again and would love to know what adventures Starbuck and co get up to next.

kind regards

Brett Scobie

I have enjoyed ALL of your works -- I have missed a few. Really enjoyed the Starbuck Chronicles as well as Saxon Stories, Grail Quest, Arthur Books. I just purchased "The Fort" on, 2 Aug. I have not read many of the Sharpe Books. I retired in 1996 -- tech illustrator which tells you that I am of advanced age. Justwanted to say say thanks for your works.

Ed Perkins

Mr. Cornwell,
I have never reread a book let alone a series of books until now.  I have very much enjoyed reading your story of Arthur.   Although I do like the way you simple end it by saying "and no one has seen him sense" I have often wondered what happened to Derfel.  Since I do like happy endings and after a lot of thought I decided that that for one last time he became Lord Derfel Cadarn and met the incoming Saxons arriving at the monastery shouting out Ceinwyn and Bel as a final battle cry and dying sword in hand..  Then I picture him crossing the Bridge of Swords where he is met by Ceinwyn, his daughters, old friends and then finally being reunited with his Lord Arthur.  Thank you for making the tale of Arthur alive to me.
Schyler

In regards to this recent message: "Saxon books was there ever a mention of Quarterstaff.  I realize Uhtred and friends are seasoned, mail garbed, sword wielding >warriors that would have no interest in such a weapon or art, but the reason I ask is Quarterstaff fighting is a decidedly Saxon phenomenon."

There is actually no such thing as a ‘quarter staff’. It is a staff and the ‘quarter’ part is an indication of where the staff is being held - in the lower quarter of the staff. There is another style of fighting called ‘half staff’. Again this is an indication of where the staff is held, though it would be more accurate to call itl thirds. In most films that say ‘quarter staff’ when in fact the fighting style is ‘half staff’. I think they use half staff as it is a safer style and makes lots of noise. Quarter staff is more lethal as you can get in more momentum. I fight with a staff from time to time and in a real rough house fight you can slip from half to quarter and back again.
A Saxon weapon? Although the use of a staff (or its shorter brother the stave) is common through all ages as an aid to walking, I suspect its main change to a weapon would have come after the Norman Conquest when the Normans were nervous about the English owning a weapon. Of course a staff is not a weapon, until you actually use it as such! Basically a staff is a spear without a pointed metal head and its use in a fight is the same or similar to that of a man armed with a spear, but no shield.

Keep up the book writing: your books have always been my favourites.
Geoff

I was almost finished reading The Fort when I came to the part where the American
Commodore had started burning the ships of his fleet. Paul Revere had just refused to allow the crew of The Nancy to come aboard his long boat.
The real Nancy was captured by the British, sailed up the Great lakes to supply British outposts and became an important item in the war of 1812. It was attacked by three American ships in 1814 & sunk in the Nottawasaga River which runs into Georgian Bay. Our town is called Wasaga Beach short for Nottawasaga. Over the years, the sunken Nancy became an island built up by the sand from the river bottom.
Nancy Island has become a famous historic landmark.Since this is the 200th anniversity of the war of 1812, a reenactment will take place in August.
I am a Charter member of a new Lions Club which we have named Wasaga Beach Nancy Island Lions Club. I had just returned from a meeting of the club, when I read
your item on the sloop The Nancy.What a small world.  If you are interested, The Nancy/Nancy Island are written up on the internet. The complete story is almost as fasinating as some of your books which I love & reread whenever I have the chance, especially the Sharpe series.

Regards & keep on writing . You are one of my most popular authors.

Lion Bernard Speisman

Sir;
I have enjoyed your Saxon Chronicles series immensely.  There is enough meat in the stories and descriptions that the reader can immerse himself into the events.  I have enjoyed riding along with Uhtred.  Even though we live in America (some of us for generations), the story of our heritage and how it formed what is now England is important.
Thank you.

Michael St.John
Charleston, South Carolina

Coincidence is the strangest thing. For many years my wife would mention her favourite author, Bernard Cornwell, and whenever he would release his next book I would buy it for her.
For many years I would mention, from time to time, that my love of history was to a large extent engendered by my history teacher who would paint wonderful verbal pictures of historic events, almost bringing them to life in my mind.
Then, one day, I happened to look at the back of one of the books and who was looking out but my history teacher!!
So may I thank you for the enjoyment that Melanie & my children have received through reading and watching the TV and films of your magical stories and from me for the enthusiasm that you showed to your students, and in particular me, when teaching history to us.
Yours very sincerely
David Cumper
P.S. Another co-incidence, Melanie who writes under the name Melanie Rose it turns out has the same UK publisher as yourself.....funny old world!