Bulletin Board

Hello Bernard....I inherited a copy of "The Life of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington" published soon after his death in 1853 so I take naturally to the "Sharpe" books and TV series. The Canadian "sideshow" to the Napoleonic wars was the War of l812 along the Niagara frontier and in Lower Canada as you know. In "New Brunswick, A History: 1784-1867", W.S. MacNutt recounts how 550 rank and file of the 104th Regiment of the Line (New Brunswick Fencibles) marched 700 miles in 52 days in the winter of 1812-13 through the wilderness from Fredericton to Kingston. Perhaps Wellington could get the Royal Navy to send Sharpe and the "Chosen Men" to the New World to take on the Yankees some day! I hope to see you on May 7 in Vancouver. Cheers for now! Peter B. Clark

Hello. This is the first time I visit your web, but I´ve read many of your books. I´ve enjoyed them, every page, every book and I´m waiting now to get your last books in Spain. Finally I would like to recomend you a Spanish author, maybe you already know him, Arturo Perez- Reverte and his books about Spain on 16th and 17th centuries. I hope you understand my English and I hope to know about you and your books soon.

Miguel de la Horra

I love reading your books on Sharpe and my boy friend like the series on tv and I have got him to start reading the books as well. We both would like to say how much we enjoy them, and to say thank you for writing such good books. Sharon Greenwood

I HAVE READ ALL OF YOUR BOOKS AND HAVE ENJOYED THEM ALL.THEY ARE ALL WELL WRITTEN AND TAKE ME TO ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE. THANKS CARL T. WIKSTROM

I want to express my appreciation to you for the Sharpe's series. Generation after generation slowly remove themselves from the pain of war. With that comes the repetition of mistakes that lead to war. As a veteran of Vietnam, with a father and father in law who fought in WWII, and relatives who died in our Civil War, I know what the sacrifice of war entails. You have brought that to the public in a valuable way. If we repeat one less avoidable battle casualty - you will have been a key factor. Thank You. J. Wilker

Mr Cornwell. Greetings. May I say sir that I have read every Sharpe book and watched the TV shows over and over and enjoyed every minute. I have just received my copy of Sharpe's Escape and read it in one afternoon. It is by far the best of them all. It is thouroughly exciting, enthralling and is one of those books that you cannot put down. I cannot wait for the next. Long may you reign as the premier military thriller author. I always thought that Alexander Kent, Dudley Pope and the like were ace, but the Sharpe series surpass anything else. Keep well Sir, and long may you write. Kind regards, John Cooper

Hello! I love and admire your books,...so much that I feel compelled to comment on one aspect of them concerning firearms. All of us are constantly seeing in movies and reading in books that persons struck by bullets or shot are pushed, thrown or flung aside by the force of these projectiles. This is not the case in reality. A shot person, if killed instantly, drops straight down as though puppet strings had been cut. Many times people do not react at all for varying lengths of time and do not know they have been shot. I have spoken to quite a few men who have been in combat and while they all agree on the various and unpredictable reactions to being shot, they also agree that there is no apparent reaction to kinetic forces during a bullet strike. I am 70 years old and have been a hunter all my life. I've seen countless large and small animals and birds shot with just about avery kind of bullet and shot you can imagine. No animal or bird can be seen to be pushed or thrown by being hit. They either collapse instantly or travel a short distance and then fall. The actual bullet or shot strike is rarely visible and the body is not pushed by it. The very high velocity of these objects means that they travel through tissue and bone so "instantaneously" that no kinetic reaction is visible to the eye. I have many times heard comments from knowledgeable firearms folks about this mistaken idea, which is especially prevalent in films. As you know, America is full of people who know a great deal about firearms and I am certain that many of them are among your readers. I hope that you will take this mild critiscism in the spirit in which it is meant and to increase the realism of your fine writing,....which has given me countless moments of pleasure and for which I thank you. Tom Warner

hi there just to say I am looking forward to reading your latest novel. Sharpe is a fantastic series, many thanks. Ian

Dear Bernard, Myself and 2 friends have just had a fantastic weekend in Salamanca. I sat on my balcony in the Grand Plaza and re-read Sharpe's Sword.We climbed the 2 hills and I even managed to buy a French musket ball from the very enthusiastic guide at the visitors centre. He even had his own flintlock musket! (didn't manage to find Wellingtons discarded chicken bone!) Was the visitors centre there when you researched the battle? Thanks for all the great books. Dr Neil Brownlee

I thought you might find it interesting (don't know why :) ) that the book covers in Canada are the "U.K" ones and that the first Grail book was "Harlequin" even though the romance series is also "popular" (ugh) here. I enjoy your books very much by the way ...P. Hertel