Bulletin Board

Dear Bernard Cornwell: I have just finished your Death of Kings and though I thought it great read I also was offput by a serious anachronism. You had everyone galloping around on horseback at a time when there were few if any horses around. Almost a hundred years later, Harold's army arrived at the battle of Hastings with 7,000 infantry and perhaps a few mounted soldiers. You had 7.000 Danes and 4,000 Saxons on horseback at a time when there was no infrastructure to carry horses in those numbers through an English winter. Hay was not available as a major crop at this time for example. I have read lots of your books with great enjoyment and am not usually this picky but I felt I had to make a comment this time. Graham

Bravo on your latest Uhtred tale, Mr. Cornwell. Since I met you at SMU in 2005 the tales have grown at a feverish pace, and I eagerly await the storming of Bebbanburg that will herald their conclusion. My comments have two purposes (and I don't care if they are posted and I will always count you among my favorite authors and influences upon mine own work). One, that you should expect a copy of my first novel, signed to you, without whose influence and courage I could not have begun my career (I'm at nearly 140,000 words and while Conn Iggulden gives equal detail and William Deitrich equal plot device, you are unequaled in pacing and charicterization, plus dialogue and the romantic "little things" we call here in America.) Second, I've read of your upbringing among the "Peculiar People" and I can sympathize somewhat. I was raised Seventh Day Adventists, which is a cult unto itself here in America, and I understand your ambivalence to religion because of it. The only thing I will say, and please forgive me if I cross a line, is that the message of Christ is pure, even if His messengers aren't. You've read enough of the Bible to know, and the horrors you've described being raised under are not the work of Jesus. Far from it. Believe the message, if not always its carrier. God Bless You. Charles Scott Curtis

Hi Mr. Cornwell, A friend recommended "Redcoat" to me. I am currently reading and enjoying it! That is my favorite era in history! Janeen Dodds Indianapolis, Indiana

Hello Sir. Bernard! Here is I again! This time, I'm here to say THANKS, you're a great personality, and is simple, answer questions at people of the entire world. A few of writers haven't the simplicity that you have with your fans! I really wanna like that a day you come to Brazil, is a good country and you have a lot of fans here! Thanks for all! Lucas Aparecido Mota

I wanted to make a comment on your creation of Sergeant Hakeswill and the character as he was in the television series. I have to say he is one of the most vile and annoying and yet entertaining villains I ever read within any story. So many things make him one of the worst...or best...too many to mention here. I read the Sharpe series (most of them) before finding the television shows, but I have to say the image and visual mannerisms of the actor who portrayed Hakeswill forever left its mark. The studio did your man right when they cast him as Hakeswill (Says so in the scriptures). Anytime I return to the books, I see Pete Postlethwaite (rest his soul)as Hakeswill. Thank you for visualizing and creating this character. The man we will forever LOVE to LOATHE. Always a fan of your works and anxiously waiting for your next endeavor, Shawson M Hebert

Honorable Lord Cornwell: Just finished Grail quest series after reading Saxon Chronicles. Read Agincourt in between. Loved them all thank you. I am thrilled that Thomas of Hookton and Uhtred of Beebanberg will see more life. I have become so attached. Please keep them both alive. Warlord Chronicles next! Regards, Robert Agoura Hills, California

I've always been an avid reader, but ever since I picked up "The Winter King" 6 years ago in my high school library, I haven't been able to get enough of your writing. I've eagerly devoured the Arthur Books, all of the Saxon stories, the grail quest, and Stonehenge, and they all rank among the top novels I've ever read. Sitting down tonight to read "The Winter King" for the 5th time, I felt obligated to share my gratitude to you for creating works that have given me such entertainment.. Thank you very much. -Brian B.

Dear Mr Cornwell, May I thank you for giving me such vast pleasure following your heroic characters through their life journeys. Curiosity prompts me to ask how and why Capt Sandman and Sgt Berrigan arrived in Gallow's Thief, whilst Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper were bestriding the Napoleonic War era. The physical characteristics between Sharpe and Sandman and Harper and Berrigan are so similar. Happy Easter, Jim McMaster

Greetings Mr. Cornwell! I just finished the Sharpe series and wanted to send a heartfelt thanks. I enjoyed the books immensely. To me storytelling satisfies a need that is difficult to put into words. More than entertainment, it seems to reach an integral part of my DNA. And your work is at the very top of my list. I get pulled into the stories to the point where I don't realize that I am reading a novel. I am more of a time-traveling observer. Very best wishes to you and yours, Mark Younes

Dear Mr Cornwell, Having just finished reading the complete Starbuck series for at least the third time, I read what you had to say about continuing the series. I can see that there is a resemblance to Sharpe, but the big difference is that Sharpe was on the winning side. As we know the South lost the civil war and I would love to see how you would show Starbuck coping with defeats that inevitably lead to a complete defeat of the Southern states. I have all of the Sharpe books and almost all of the other books you have written so I thank you for all the pleasure you have given me. Forget the time I have spent reading instead of getting on with something more useful to others!!! Paddy Close