Your Questions

Q

Dear Bernard - Have enjoyed many of your books over the years. One thing I stumbled across recently that truly amazed me was that all Sharpe's promotions were based on the same time frame as a real soldier who came up through the ranks. Who was he and where can I read about him? Because he must have been some soldier. With all the disease and death in battle it amazes me that any one man managed to live through the whole peninsula campaign (apart from Wellington, who including his India days as well, as I'm sure you'll agree, seemed to have lived a charmed life) but to come from the ranks and get to Colonel? That's incredible... Regards, Mark

Submitted November 2, 2006

A

His name was Elley, and alas, you won't find a book on him. He wasn't the only one, but Elley did it fastest (as far as I can discover). A seaman in Nelson's navy was flogged round the fleet and still rose to be an Admiral of the Fleet! It really isn't that incredible - by 1815 alomost one in ten officers were up from the ranks - the army (and navy) weren't entirely stupid and did promote good men whatever their origins.

Q

we love all the Sharpe's books & dvds...just viewed the dvd of Sharpe's Challenge...sooooo anxious to view the SEQUEL to it..how/where do I do that..certainly left "hanging"...wonderful tales. thank you so much Diana

Submitted October 31, 2006

A

No plans for a sequel that I know of - but if that changes we'll let you know!

Q

Sorry Bernard, this is a family history query. My mother is a Cornwell, descended through Benjamin b. 1889 and Cyrus b.1859. We have read that you are related to Boy Jack Cornwell VC and family lore has it that we are too. We are just wondering if you have made the connection which might help us. It would be useful to know too the names of your mother Dorothy's parents because it may well help us fill in a few gaps in certain branches of our tree. Hope its OK to use this method of contact for this subject. Many thanks and kind regards. Veronica Workman

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

Dear Veronica, alas I don't know. I shall do my best to find out . . . . but it might take some time. Dorothy was certain of the connection, but she died last year . . . I shall try and find another family member who might know.

Q

Mr. Cornwell, thanks for all the superb characters, hours of reading pleasure and seamless blending of factual and fictional. 'Rebel' led me to your Sharpe series in '93 and I've been a fan since. I'm curious to know if you are familiar with 'Angels in Iron', Nicholas Prata's novel about the pivotal 1565 Siege of Malta. His memorable characters, accurate detail and desperate battle scenes remind one of your work. (As does R.F. Delderfield's Napoleonic fiction.)

Also, have you any interest in treating the Christian/Muslim conflicts of that period (Venetian-Turkish Wars, Rhodes, Malta, Lepanto, Crete, Vienna, etc.?)

Just wondering: in 'Vagabond', you describe Scots pikes as wickedly hooked and barbed--weren't Scottish pikes just long spears used in schiltrons? The weapon you portray sounds more like a halberd or voulge. And yours was the only reference I've seen to Scottish war drums.

In his sprawling novel 'Teutonic Knights', Henryk Sienkiewicz contended that there were East European archers superior to the English longbowmen, any thoughts? (I've seen mentions of English archers serving as mercenaries in Italy, Baltic Crusades, etc. Perhaps they met Poles or Wends in battle?)

Are there firm plans on when Starbuck and his merry band of Virginia, Arkansas and Florida boys will march again? We "Yanks" look forward to more gripping Civil War tales. I know I've asked a ton of questions...I'm sure I could think of more. Thanks again and keep up the stellar work for many years to come. Marc Salzano Mt. Vernon N.Y.

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

I fear I don't know the book, but am hugely grateful for your recommendation and I'll order it from Amazon today!

Nope. Sorry. Too many other things I want to do before any of those - though I recently read a book on Lepanto and found it fascinating.

Can't remember my source now . . . so this answer will be entirely inadequate - but I'm fairly sure I was working off a reasonable authority - and I suspect the pikes were rare, and that spears were more common. Also suspect I made the drums up.

Know nothing about East European archers - unless these are the men who used composite bows? In which case I suspect the composite bow was a much better weapon than the longbow . . . but that's another story.

Starbuck will be back, but right now I can't say when.

Q

Firstly let me just say it was great to meet you in southampton and shake your hand. Thanks for signing my 1st editions Eagle and Trafalgar by the way (I'm the lad with the curtain tasselled Heavy Cavalry Sword). My question is can you suggest the best source of information about San Sabastian? I've a mind to try my hand! Ben

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

You mean the siege? Any of the very good books on Wellington in the peninsula. I think Jac Weller is fairly unbeatable. Or see if your library can get hold of Sir Charles Oman's 7 volume A History of the Peninsular War - almost a hundred years old, but a terrific read. - you only need Volume VII which opens with the siege.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am working my way through the Sharpe series, and just finished reading Sharpe's Escape. Did a Mister Slingsby really exist? He annoyed me almost as much as he did Sharpe, I fear - and I'm not sorry to see him lose control of the South Essex Skirmishers. Yours, A.W.

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

No, poor Slingsby is all fictional!

Q

Hello there Bernard! I do hope your well? I have few questions if may? Just before reading Sharp's Trafalgar I was a bit worried i wasn't going to enjoy it? Because it was at sea & the first 3 books were superb! But once again you had me reading that book every spare moment I had! But I did get a little bit lost with names of parts of the ship? The stern, port & starberd & parts of the rigging etc. Would it be an idea to have a diagram of a ship in the book to resolve this matter? Sorry to be a nit picker!

I enjoyed the book so much , I went to the maritime museum to see The Trafalgar exhibit which was great & there was Nelson's uniform he was shot in & I was surprised how small it was? And other officers & sailors jackets were tiny? My next qustion is were people in them days genrally a smaller size?

To my next question, I am about to buy a replica Bakers rifle & I was wondering How much a real one goes for? I would appreciate your input?

I have just bought the film Waterloo on dvd, With Rod Steiger & Chris Plummer & I thought it was great! the film shows the scale of the battle & brings battles like that into prospective! & if you look closly you can even see the skirmishers. But on to my last question (thanks for being patient) In the film Wellington promotes a private to corporal for stealing a pig! Did it happen? Well that's all for now & thanks for writing such brilliant stories. Gary Beadle

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

There was just such a diagram in the hardback, and I can only assume the publishers left it out of the paperback for their usual reasons of cost. Sorry about that!

They were smaller than folk are today (though Mister Bunce, HMS Victory's carpenter, was well over six feet). I read once that the average height of the British infantry was 5' 4", though the Scots were generally a bit taller. Suspect the officers (better fed as children) were closer to what we would consider normal height. Nelson wasn't that short (somewhere around 5' 6"????) but he was frail, and gave an impression of fragility. A killer, all the same!

A real one? Rather expensive I would imagine!

No. He gave an order that every man caught stealing from the peasantry in Portugal, Spain and France was to be hanged on the spot (wanted their support, not their opposition). The story goes that one day a private of the 88th (Connaught Rangers) appeared through a hedge in front of his lordship - the Irishman was carrying a piglet - Wellington snapped something at him (and was obviously ready to order his arrest) when the man told Wellington that if he hurried he'd find one or two piglets left for himself. Wellington burst into laughter, which made it impossible to hang the man, so he forgave him instead. That was it. Very often, if a man was condemned to hang, the sentence was commuted if his unit did well in battle.

Q

I truly enjoyed the Lords of the North and as always I read the historical notes and I would like to know how much of your family line and the main character have in common? Michael Zitt

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

We know absolutely nothing about those distant Uhtreds! Except their dates. My own suspicion is that they held onto Bebbanburg by collaboration rather than heroism, but I don't know! They lost it before the Norman Conquest when one of them fell out with King Cnut and was murdered.

Q

Hi Bernard, We met a couple of times when I was reviewing your books for the Oxford Times in the UK. I am now enjoying the latest series - the Saxon Stories - and enjoying them. Thanks for the many hours of pleasure you have given me - I am now retired and have a little bit more time to read. My son in law is an avid Cornwell fan and has just finished the last of your books. I managed to get for him, as presents, the Christmas Sharpe special. What authors do you like reading? Enough for now. Thanks again for a lot of fun. Dave Hall, now living in Lancashire.

Great books. Who do you read when you have the time? I started reading your Sharpe booke a few years ago. Buying them second-hand, then passing them on when done. Trouble was, at about no14, the store had run out. Now I can't remember where I read upto, and have to start again. Oh well. Damn good fun though. Oh yes. What do you think of the Sharpe character now being a Yorkshireman?
Stuart Miller

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

I read enormous amounts of history - right now I'm reading Vic Gatrell's City of Laughter (18th Century London) and Michael Burleigh's Sacred Causes, which is about the intersection of religion and politics since WW2. Fiction? Lots, but I'm hugely keen on a young (damn him) Scottish writer called Stuart MacBride - two utterly brilliant books - Cold Granite and Dying Light.

No complaints. Remember Sharpe spends part of his childhood in Yorkshire, so he's an honorary Yorkshireman!

Q

Love the Sharpe books! I blame Mister Sharpe for many sleepless nights. Like many other geographically challenged Yanks, I don't know where a lot of the action takes place. Could you includes a map of the specific country and location of the featured battle? I had no idea exactly where Trafalgar is until I looked it up. The battle maps are very helpful, along with the views of the ships and the fortresses.
Donna B.

Submitted October 28, 2006

A

We do try to put in maps that show the location of the action, as well as larger scale maps of battles, etc. Sorry about Trafalgar. I guess that growing up in Britain I made the silly assumption that everyone knew where it was!