Your Questions

Q

AHA!! Just saw in a genealogy that there was an Earl Uhtred of Northumbria, who married Elfgifu, the daughter of King Ethelred...could it be our Uhtred?? Fionna

Submitted April 6, 2007

A

It is! Or at least it's that family - which is my family - there was a whole succession of Uhtreds who were (mostly) Earls of Northumbria in the pre-Conquest era. The family still thrives, though now spells its name Oughtred and lives, mostly, in Yorkshire or British Columbia. I am a by-blow (they were always good at that).

Q

Dear Bernard, I enjoyed 'Gallows Thief' very much, and particularly the colourful and often bizarre vocabulary that your London characters used. I noticed (correct me if I'm wrong) that none of them referred to each other as 'mate', which contemporary Londoners seem to do all the time, taxi-drivers especially. Did that term of address not exist in Regency times? Sorry, this is not the most riveting of questions, but I am very much curious, and I wonder when did it ever creep into everyday use. Do you have any idea? Thank you. Paul Reid, County Cork.

Submitted April 6, 2007

A

The word enters the language very early - 14th Century - but its popularity seems to explode in the 19th (I'm deducing this from the citations in the OED). In Gallows Thief it's part of the 'Flash' language, which was the argot used by underworld London in the late 18th and early 19th centuries - a 'private' language so dense that some magistrate's courts employed translators. Many flash words crossed over into mainstream English, and I suspect mate was one of them . .in the jocular sense . . it already had a perfectly respectable existence as a naval rank, or to describe a wife or husband.

Q

Greetings and well met indeed, Mr. Cornwell! I must confess that I am a relative newcomer to your books, having only read the first two novels of your Saxon series and just now beginning "Stonehenge". I am enjoying them very much! I was hoping you could take a moment or two to address a concern of mine. Being an amateur writer myself I very much desire to publish a historical-fiction novel of my own sometime. After doing a great deal of preliminary research on my topic and time period, and furthermore after having completed my first chapter (which I feel is quite good), I have discovered that another successful author has already published a novel on the same subject fifteen years ago! (no, not you, btw) But ugh! I'm sure you can imagine my initial distress at such a belated discovery. At first I began to despair and started the unenviable chore of searching for another topic to write about - but have since changed my mind. I want to proceed as planned with my story. I read the other author's novel and found much in it that I liked, but also much that seemed to me to be silly and, quite frankly, ridiculous. I have even thought of an entirely new approach to the subject that differs from his story. I am very excited about this project of mine and want to continue forward, but do you think that I am wasting my time by doing so? Would a prospective publisher refuse my novel on the grounds that another fairly well-known author already covered such a topic? I shan't bother you here with a lot of detail about my chosen subject except to say that it involves the discovery of the "New World". I would sincerely appreciate any advice you might have for me on this dilemma. Thank you so much, Mr. Cornwell. Jeff, Indiana, USA ~

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

Fifteen years ago? That's an eternity to publishers! It won't worry them in the least . . . if it was one year ago and the other book was still in print, they might feel a flicker of concern, but fifteen? And even if it is still in print, doesn't matter. Nope, you're all set to go . . . . . . . and good luck!

Q

Hello :) Its hard to know exactly how to say something that has not already been said or that will not bore you ...so forgive but....I won't try :) I really enjoy your books and think a good deal to be the best I have ever read - something I personally think to be amazing considering my staunch and stubborn attachment to such books as Terry Pratchett :) I do have one question however, I have not yet read ANY of your Sharpe series - this may sound an odd question but do you suggest reading them in order of publication or the chronological order you have on the site? And should I be prepared for a good deal of change from the TV series ..which yes I admit..I did watch first (forgive me) Lastly...please don't get bored.....could you possibly give an aging man some kind of hope...(and forgive me on this because it might just be something I got from the TV series and you may not have written it at all)......please tell me......did Frederickson ever get his set of teeth made in England? Many thanks and I truly hope you are well. Frazer

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

I generally recommend reading the Sharpe books in chronological order (you'll find the listing on the Sharpe books page of this website). And yes, you will find there are some differences between the novels and the films. Frederickson's teeth? Do you know? I don't know! I'll take a guess for you, yes.

Q

hi, I am a big fan of all your books espsecially the saxon tales, also the Sharpe novels but I have a thing you may have overlooked Obidiah hawkswill died in Sharpe's Fortress but he's back in Sharpe's Company, how did he escape the snake pit? Jamie Foyle

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

The snakes wouldn't touch him! He survived. He couldn't be killed (says so in the scripture)!

Q

Hi Bernard, I actually read your book "The winter king" in the German translation. It's the first book of you I read and I like it. I think I've found a mistake. You have written about swords, made of steel. But steel doesn't exist in the fifth century. Steel is an invention of the eighteenth century. Greetings from Germany Christoph Keseberg

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

Greetings! Steel did exist! The Saxons even had a word for it - 'steeli' occurs at the period of the books I write! But I know what you mean. You're right, of course, that the steel-making process was not understood until the 19th Century, and today steel means iron containing less than 1.7% of carbon (just looked it up), but steel did exist! Experienced blacksmiths noted the different properties of the iron they forged, and how some was brittle and some was more pliable, and they learned how to make each kind by trial and error. They did not know why it worked! But they knew that keeping the iron on the fire for differing periods produced different types of iron, and one they called steel . . . . and they did use that word (it's mentioned in the great Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf) So I decided I could too . . . . thanks!

Q

Hi Bernard, It's a shame you haven't seen the 2004 King Arthur film. I'd be interested to hear what you make of the Saxons invading England via the north west of Scotland! As for their use of crossbows....... As someone who loves history do Hollywood historical 'liberties' irritate you much? James

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

I think that's why I didn't go and see the film! Saxons from the north west? Wow, but then Stonehenge was supposedly built by little green men from Mars, so nothing is left to astonish us. Hollywood's liberties drive me up the wall (my wife refuses to sit beside me in historical films), but my mistakes probably drive other folk up the same wall . . . . oh well. Fraid I never am going to see that movie, would be bad for my blood pressure.

Q

I would like to read more about a redcoat's state of mind.

What was his mental state when he realises he's being ordered to walk slowly into a hail of fire?

How does he equate the King's shilling with near-certain death?

When drawn up into ranks, was there an unseemly manoevre to get into the back row?

Having seen the bloodbath and pain of previous battles, wouldn't more of them "crack"?

Sharpe recovers from a bad wound and is only too keen to risk it again. TS

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

I don't think he was that different from today's soldiers, and there certainly was no unseemly shuffle to get in the back rank! They had huge pride in their achievements! They were professionals, and far from facing certain death, they reckoned they were being led to certain victory. Death rates in battle were not that different from, say, the rates in an infantry platoon of the Second World War. It may seem ludicrous to us that they wore bright colours and stood in close rank, but that's a product of the inadequate weaponry they faced and, as soon as those weapons became more accurate (and death more certain) the tactics changed. There was war-weariness, and Sharpe shows it in the books, and only an idiot would not have felt fear in battle, but that is a constant in history. Interestingly it is the French, with their conscript army, who are forced into using columns, from which it's hard to escape. Why didn't they crack? Well some did. But most kept going and, I'm certain, that had nothing to do with King and Country, and everything to do with not letting down your mates . . . how often have we heard of the bonds between men in battle? Tighter than family, and that, I think, is what inspired them and gave them the necessary courage . . . . which was bolstered by discipline, training and a genuine confidence (in Wellington's army, at least) in the quality of the leadership being provided.

Q

Hi I need your help on finding Naval source books for the Napoleonic War period of time, since I want to write a series about a American born Pirate named Redjack, I've been reading Patrick O'Brien series which is helpful but confusing for a luber like myself. LW

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

There are so many books! You could sink a ship with all those books! So so many it's hard to know where to start - but maybe start at the very top and look for The Wooden World by N. A. M. Rodger. Then follow his bibliography . . . . his more recent book, The Command of the Ocean, is brilliant, and you will find the bibliography there much more up to date - but in both cases slanted heavily towards the Royal Navy. O'Brien is wonderful, of course, and very technical. There was a recent book on the American frigates of 1812 called Six Frigates by Ian Toll, and his bibliography could point you to specifically American sources. Good liuck!

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell Since a young teenager I have been a great fan of C. S. Forester. I read and re-read many of his books, including Death To The French. Later I began reading, and re-reading, Sharpe. I have continued to do so with a great deal of pleasure, but I have often wondered whether some of your inspiration for Sharpe may have come from C. S. Forester's novel. Two days ago I finished Sharpe's Escape for the second time and I noticed newly promoted Rifleman Dodd disappearing down the hill to escape from the French and not returning. I have spent today wondering about that. It has been many years since I read Death To The French but I felt sure that the hero's name was also Matthew Dodd - it's been frustrating waiting for the day to end so that I could check. I am immensely pleased to find this is so, also that they both disappeared on the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras. I hope this is not just a coincidence. With many thanks for hours of pleasure and entertainment. Yours sincerely, Titus Hackman

Submitted March 29, 2007

A

I loved the Hornblower books as a kid and so yes, it's not just a coiincidence but more of a tribute to C.S. Forester.