Bulletin Board

Dear Mr. Cornwell: Just a note of thanks to you for the hours of enjoyable reading you have given me. I have finished The Arthur Books, Stonehenge, & Agincourt. I look forward to beginning The Saxon Stories this weekend. Thanks again.

Joseph Cummings

Strangely this is not about your books, though it comes through them, if you like. A Vast Saxon hoard has just been discovered in Staffordshire, England. Over 1500 pieces of gold and Silver, swords, battle axes, and the finest jewellery from the Saxon age. The discovery is larger even than Sutton hoo. I thought you'd like to know as I don't know if this gets reported in America but you can read about it here. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6847081.ece. highest regards sincerely Mike Usiskin

Dear Bernard, Having just read "Sword Song" I thought you might be interested in this: Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/8272058.stm. Great books, thanks for many hours of great reading! I've just finished the Sharpe series and have started onto the Saxon Stories, although perhaps not in the right order! Andy Evans

Dear Bernard I thought you might be interested in this article from the BBC website about the discovery of a 'huge' hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold. Looking forward to the new book arriving on the shelves in October Best regards Andy Bellinger

Sir, Have you seen the article on Yahoo, or heard about the hoard of Anglo Saxon treasure? "Largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UK" - I was wondering what you might think about it, in terms of popular press generating interest about a Saxon Stories movie. Need I say how big a fan I am of yours, etc.? I'm a 50-year old graduate student, and my reading time is precious. Be assured that I will always steal the time to devour one of your masterful epics. Keep up the good work. Thank you, Alan Katerinsky NSF Scholar University at Buffalo

Of course I thought of Uhtred: "Largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UK". Hope you return to the D.C. area with you next book.

Thad Humphries
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6847081.ece. Peter McCutcheon

Dear Mr Cornwell, First let me tell you how much we all enjoy your stories. And when I say "we" I mean my entire family. We're the worst sort of history buffs imaginable. You know, the ones that talk non-stop during movies correcting everything and who know more than the tour guides? Yeah, we fall in that category. My co-workers call me Encyclopedia Bethannica. I was just wondering if you've read this article yet. It seems someone has dug up the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasures in history in Staffordshire. It's beyond amazing. If you're interested here are the links: http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/ and http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090924/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_anglo_saxon_gold. Thank you for proving that history is fascinating enough all by itself, no embellishments required and happy writing. Sincerely, BethAnn Schneider Springtown TX USA

Big fan of your work. I wanted to write to say it looks like they have found Uhtred of Bebbanburg horde (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8272370.stm) because it certainly sounds like the kind of buried treasure that he would have hidden. I love the truth and fiction in your work, it makes reading it very pleasurable. Thanks Andy

Mr. Cornwell, With the recent discovery of Anglo-Saxon treasury in the UK do you plan on incorporating this find into an upcoming Saxon book? Also, are you privy to any information about this historical find that the general public hasn't yet been told? Thank you for your time. http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12100C0DOJTT.

Tim Brough

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am a reader of your Saxon Stories from Germany and I would be very interested in your comment on the recently discovered Staffordshire Hoard. To me it is very exiting to read now in the press coverage so familiar names like Wulfhere, Aethelred and Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia. Thank you very much, Sincerely Felix!

Dear Mr Cornwell, You may find the article in the Daily Mail dated 25 September of interest. It relates to the recent find of a substantial amount (11.5 lbs of gold) of Anglo Saxon Treasure recently found at Brownhills, Staffordshire 9close to the A5 Watling Street) and is on display at Birmingham Museum until 13 October, although I am sure that they would arrange a private viewing for you! I am not aware of any battles fought around that area, and it is some 20 or so miles from Repton, which was supposedly the capital of Marcia at one time, and where the Danes landed after coming up the River Trent (substantial remains of a longboat were found there 2 or 3 years ago). Do you think the treasure could have been by Saxons fleeing the Danes along the old Roman road? Brownhills is on the edge of the Trent Valley, which would have been very fertile farming land, and thus well populated in Saxon times. Hope this is of interest, and looking forward to hearing your talk at Warwick. Regards Frank of Mercia

Frank Smith

Your Sharpe's series of book are a real insight in how a boy from the gutters can strive and survive the worst that man can throw at them sometimes knocking you back but with the courage and bitter bloodiness of determination the man comes back fighting for his men and for the freedom of others. I just wish that the series would go back to when Sharpe joined the service and that all these books were made into tv films showing how the life of one soul strive to survive in the hardship of his era and military service as in those days a whole different ball game to today's standards. I see Sharpe returning to Britain as he was a hero and becoming someone of real importance in the military field that the young soldier of today take as second nature. I will keep an rifleman's eye out for future exploits of Sharpe.
Glenn Donaldson

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Just a quick note to say I am a huge, admiring fan. I write crime fiction, published by Putnam, but since I discovered the Grail quest series I have read your English history based books more than anything else, including books I get for free from Putnam. That's it. Just a fan. Perhaps we'll run into each other at a book festival someday. Until then I am content to tell you that I hold you in the hisgest possible esteem. Sincerely, Jim Born

Azincourt was a fantastic read. I enjoyed it almost as much as the Wessex chronicles and now I see the new one is coming out. Can,t wait!! The way you write battle scenes is second to none as far as I am concerned, I,m there witnessing it all. Looking forward immensely to your talk at the Tank Museum Dorset in October. Got my tickets within minuets of being notified about it. Regards to my favourite author. Helen Powell

Just the brief rantings of an excited fan..... Can't wait to get my hands on The Burning Land, the whole series has been so good and those Saxon Stories were really one of the first times I'd even read your work. Actually, second, Stonehenge was the first book I got....loved that too. As a History buff I really appreciate the work that goes into making these wonderful stories so real. Wish they had handed out this kind of a history text book when I was in School, might have become a professor or something as equally as inspired. Read Azincourt this past week and found it to be excellent, loved the whole history of this unique period in England's history; the Long Bow details and information was awesome.....it shouldn't be so much fun to get educated like this !! Thanks for your work Sir, Love it all, please keep them coming... All the best. Jeff Snowdon Surrey, BC, Canada.

woo hoo!!! woo hoo!!! .......just found out another Saxon Story is coming......
Kerry Hodge

Mr. Bernard Cornwell, I am a fifteen year old boy living in America. I am fascinated with all of your tales, especially the Saxon tales. I know you have your own agenda, but I think it would be fantastic if you would write a book based on the time when the Romans expanded into Gaul. I know with your prowess, you could make it into a tale worthy of Odin's halls.
Logan Visser

I am a grown man, and yet your Saxon stories have me feeling like a child at Christmas. I get too little sleep because, after reading until the wee hours, I am left in bed still thinking about who Uhtred will vanquish next. So thank you for stoking my imagination in a way few authors ever have. I am nearly finished Sword Song and will jump right into the latest Saxon book. I loved Agincourt and will eventually devour the Arthur books. You are master of historical fiction, and I salute you.

Joshua Gordon

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Thank you for writing the Saxon Stories. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back in time and cannot wait for The Burning Land to be released. I wanted to mention that I am involved with a genetic ancestry company called Warrior Roots (www.warriorroots.com). We collect DNA from a simple mouth swab and then link a person to their ancient warrior group by testing certain genetic markers. We can determine this because the Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son virtually unchanged. Our DNA can tell an interesting story of our familys history after the paper trail of records runs dry. For example, my wife has recent paternal Irish roots, but after taking a look at her fathers DNA we found that he tests positive for the ancient Viking marker. (We can imagine what happened during one of the Viking raids in Ireland so long ago.) Now her family is able to piece together their entire family history since the first human migration out of Africa. But more to the point, we market our services to fans and professional athletes of mixed martial arts. (Imagine Uhtred and Steapa fighting today in a State sanctioned bout - minus the weapons, of course.) Warrior Roots has tested World Champion MMA athletes and our CEO is even a professional MMA athlete. (Warrior Roots is made up of 2 Celts, 2 Vikings, 1 Saxons, and 1 Phoenician. We are having a blast imagining how we would have performed on the ancient battlefield!) Our fans and customers are extremely educated and I know they would love to read The Saxon Series books. Thanks for your time! Sincerely, Keith Wetherby, Saxon Warrior