Bulletin Board

Dear Mr Cornwell, Sharpe repeats on UK TV have given me great pleasure and have sent me back to the books with fresh enthusiasm. Thank you. Steve Lovering London.

I have read most of your works and would like to say thanks for the enjoyment they have given to me. Thanks also for your website and your personal contributions to it. My reason for writing at this time is because of the 22nd June posting from Jeff from Indiana who wrote about a stone fort along the Ohio River. He said "If these stone structures were not built by Madoc and his colony than I would like to know who did?! The Indians did not build with stone." In his excellent book "Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology", anthropologist Kenneth L. Feder briefly mentions excavations at one of the "better known forts in central Tennessee" said to have supported the Welsh hypothesis. He says there was no physical evidence to support that hypothesis and that "...the fort, which is really little more than a hilltop enclosed with a stone wall, contained artifacts made by American Indians, not Europeans". Carbon dates "indicate that the stone fort was built and used sometime between A.D. 30 and 430". Regards, Mike (South West Essex)

Sir. No need to contract me back but I just want to say keep up the great work!! I got hooked on the Arthur series a few years back and now just finished the 3rd book in the Saxon series and can't wait for number 4. You have that special knack of bring out the human qualities in your characters so the reader really can relate to them. I especially like how you can take a historical event and put us right there. I really enjoy how you give your special "spin" on things that take the "legend or the text book" version and make it sound like it could have realistically occurred. Thank you and again, keep doing your great job!! Rick Kaduce Rockford, IA.

I have just finished the third book(Lords of the North) in the the Saxon Tales. I certainly have become a fan of yours, since I began these readings. I am also glad to read that a new adventure of Uhtred will be coming out in January of 2008. Keep up the the very interesting tales of life in the late 800's and early 900's in England. Thank you from a new fan

Ron Gacioch

Just a quick blurb to write more of the Starbuck Chronicles. I understand your reasons for putting him on hold, but I hope you'll find some time for them soon. And a Gallows Thief sequel as well. Thanks, Mitchell Stout

I was reading all your books of the Saxon Stories. The Last Kingdom 3 times in German and once in english and the other two twice each(English). These are amazing stories written in the manner that reflects these olden days perfectly. That's the way the world really was and even worse sometimes. I cannot get enough. Please, don't let "Sword Song" be the last one of this series. There got to be more. Outstanding Job - Congratulations. Carsten Schmidt

Hello, thank you for a brilliant night at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose(Despite the monsoon season kicking in early!!) Also for signing my Saxon series-really was like Christmas!! HaHaHa!! Have to disagree with you on one point though-I always get into more trouble over brunettes as the current Mrs Macdougall will testify!! Its good that one is not always let down by their heroes!! Thanks again Bernard. Craig Macdougall

Hi I have just raced through the 3 Saxon Tales; I cant wait for the next one. They are among the best novels I have read. Thank you for providing such great entertainment! I would love to see them turned into a TV series, (a movie could not do them justice) perhaps the team that brought Rome to HBO? Again thank you for sharing! Ashley

"Nope, because the target was solid, and a line of men isn't. And they were not metres! probably paces! And Wellington, of course, was absolutely right in enquiring whether it was not possible to raise a Corps of Archers! Sadly there were none left in England, or none to compare with the men of Crecy and Agincourt. The longbow was far more accurate than the musket, had a comparable range, and a vastly higher rate of fire. I watched a trained archer, using a bow with a draw weight in excess of a hundred pounds, put 15 out of 18 arrows through a Frenchman sized target at a range of 150 yards, all inside sixty seconds. A musket would have been really lucky to have got one ball close to that target in the same time! " However, it IS metres for the test I mentioned. To be any good with a longbow you have to be VERY strong and you need a lifetime practise. Musketmen were hardly trained at all. If a man trains nearly his whole life with a musket, surely he gets better, too. (Many tests distinguish between "recruits" and "trained shooters" and there IS a big difference! Some of the results are formidable, please believe me, Sir!!!) Wellington was a dreamer asking for a Corps of Archers. Probably there weren't even 10 men in whole England who could win (using longbows) against 10 French Fusiliers. Therefore I hate this comparison between musket and bow. It's not that simple I think! ;)Kai

Dear Mr. Cornwell I have read all three of your Saxon series books and am waiting patiently for the next. Your books have sparked an interest in Anglo-Saxon culture. To fill the gap while I am waiting for the fourth book, I have been reading Anglo-Saxon history and studying Old English. Thank you for awakening a new interest for me through your writing. This is a posting in Old English that I made on the Englisc listserver, which is an academic mail list for people interested in Old English (Englisc). It is a very short description of The Last Kingdom. I was surprised that some of the members were not familiar with your work. Hopefully, this will generate some new fans.

Þæt Æftemeste Cynerice [The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell, ISBN-13: 978-0060887186] Anno dccc lxvi. Her onginð Uhtredes spell on Bernardes bec þe is Þæt Æftemeste Cynerice gehaten. On þissum geare is Uhtred x wintra eald and his fæder is Bebbanburge ealdorman. And þy ilcan geare þa Dene eac ræsað Eoferwic hwær Uhtred is gewita his fæderes deaðes. Þonne genimð se Denisce cempa þe is Ragnar gehaten Uhtred on þære beadwe. Siþþan wysceð Ragnar Uhtredes to suna and he is afeded swa swa he Norþmann wære. Anno dccc lxxvii. Her geendað þisses spelles dæl. Uhtred is nu cyninges Ælfredes cempa and he fieht mid þæm Seaxum wið þæm Denum. Þis nis se ende Uhtredes spelles forþæm Þæt Æftemeste Cynerice is efne seo fyrste boc þreora boca be Uhtrede.

I hope you can keep the series going beyond the next tome. Best regards, Bill Howard Scottsdale, AZ