Your Questions

Q

Mr. Cornwell, I promise that I won't take too much of your time considering that you're booked enough as it is. As an Irish American interested in knowing, and also out of curiosity, is it true that Irish soldiers serving in the British Army between the American Revolution and the Napoleanic Wars were the finest and most aggressive shock troops in the World? Additionally, according to Wellington himself they were mainly responsible for Britain's preeminence in its military career. Though I guess one could make this equally strong case for the Scottish Highlanders and the Gurkhas as well, yet I still believe that the Irish were the best of the best! From what I've read certain units of Irishmen could strike fear into the hearts of even the toughest German Hessians, and those guys knew how to fight (the Hessians!)! Thing is, you know way more than I do regarding Britain's military history, and you certainly have the authority to repudiate any assumptions that I may have concerning the role that the Irish played as fearsome red coats charging into battle under the Union Jack. From reading Sharpe's Battle I could easily ascertain that they proved to be the decisive factor in the final clashing of bayonets and cold steel during those moments that mattered! They had balls, that's for sure (they were courageous beyond measure!)! Mr. Cornwell, thank you very much for your time and best of luck, Taylor Ahern, N. Quincy Massachusetts. p.s.- your books are simply outstanding, often exhilarting and flawlessly detailed, though of course you know that!

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

The Irish have always served in the British army, right up to the present time. Even during the worst of the 'troubles' there were still recruits coming from the republic to serve in regiments like the Irish Guards. As for the Napoleonic Wars - there is no 'merit table' of regiments. Many were undoubtedly very good - you can cite units like the 52nd or the Guards - but no one ever ranked them. But it is true, I think, that Irish regiments do appear to have had a fearsome reputation. Wellington obviously liked having the 88th (Connaught Rangers) under command, because they could always be relied on to fight like the devil - they could also be relied on to be fairly difficult to discipline off the battlefield, but they were usually forgiven that because of their bravery in a fight. I confess to being biassed and would certainly give my vote to the 88th as probably the best unit of Wellington's army, but plenty of folk would put forward other regiments.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, recently wrote you and your answer stimulated ANOTHER question. I asked you about Sharpe going to America and your response was (correctly) that he could not go to America because of a promise he made in Sharpe's Siege. Fair enough. However, Texas around the time of the Alamo was NOT in America it was Mexican. And the Baker rifle was infact used at the Alamo .... surely a rascal such as Sharpe could find a way there .... and there were SUCH good horses for Harper ... many of the men at the Alamo were from Louisiana (Bowie for instance) making the French connection ..ever think of Sharpe at the Alamo..... ???

On another topic ... is there any reason NONE of the paperback versions of the Sharpe books contain the maps of the battles? In the hardcover they are So helpful to visualize the scene. I am trying to collect all the books. I have many of the m in hardcover but many are just too expensive to buy now (Sharpe's Company HB at minimum of $60!). I am forced to resort to Borrowing the hardcover version from the library, copy the map and tape it into the paperbacks. Just doesn't make it. Could you tell the publishers to include the maps please in the Paperback versions. Thanks for all the great stories. Take care and buon viaggio! Patrick Patriarca

Dear Sir, Love your books. Mostly the Arthur series, but they are all good. However, I like maps and don't see many included. Is there a map reference or plans to create one that would cover most of your stories? Thanks Ed

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

Poor Sharpe! I can't think what he'd be doing at the Alamo, and I can't imagine a story of him there simply because, if he had been there, the result would have been different! Still, it's a nice thought, and thank you for it, and don't think I'm blowing it off - I will explore that period and just see if there's an angle that might work.

You've got me there - I just picked up two paperbacks at random, one British and one American, and they both have maps in them, so I'm not sure which editions you're talking about - but you're quite right, they ALL should have maps and I'll nag my publishers to discover whether, for some reason, they've stopped printing the maps. Thanks.

Q

Hey, big fan here in Texas. Just finished Sharpe's Sword in one day. I was wondering if you were familiar with the book The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes? It's by Mark Urban and is about Scovell. My wife got it for me a couple years back and it's on my short list to read. I noted it in my memory when I read your author's note. Also, I am working on a historical novel and was wondering if there are any battles you've written about where you haven't visited the site, and if so, how did you do it? I ask because my novel is about the Battle of Lepanto and I don't know when I'll ever get around to visiting the waters off Patras. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Charles Curtis

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

I do know the book, and enjoyed it - hope you do too.

I didn't visit Toulouse - mainly because my understanding was that the battlefield has more or less vanished under the city's suburbs - but that's the only battlefield I didn't visit. I wouldn't worry too much. So long as you have a firm grasp of Lepanto's geography then you'll manage just fine! A good nautical chart will help enormously (as would a Cruising Guide to Greek waters, if you can find one - Stamfords in London's Long Acre is a good place to look), and guide books are excellent cribs as well! Good luck.

Q

Hey, I have just started my easter holidays, and as I've been working so hard for my A-level exams this summer, I thought I deserved a break. I am an avid fan of all your books, and after reading The Last Kingdom, I was wondering if you knew when The Pale Horseman was coming out in Paperback, as all of your books that I own are in this format. If you could help, would be much appreciated. Tom Bennett

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

The paperback edition of The Pale Horseman will be released in the UK in June and in the US in September. Good luck on those exams!

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am astounded that you have not written a book about the Third Crusade or even just some of Cour de Lion's, pardon King Richard's campaigns in France. David Lamaster

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

I'm not astounded! I'm not going to spend three weeks researching in Palestine! Life's too short. And, to be honest, I've never really been interested in the Crusades - but I'm sure another writer somewhere will fill the gap.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I first want to thank you for your amazing novels. I am fond of all of them especially the Arthur books. I also want to thank you for being so reponsive to your fans. You are a rare author that returns comments to your fans at such a consistant rate. My questions regards the recent Saxon novels and of ancient british warfare. It is mostly concerning the shield wall. It seems in your books, that the battles are controlled by who is the bravest to march their shield wall first. Did generalship diminish after the Romans left, because it seems that battle tactics are not used anymore. I was expecting some cleverness on the battlefield from Alfred because of the mention of his skill at the ancient game of chess. I know there were no military geniuses such as Hannibal or Alexander or that I'm not aware of, but still some leader had to have had some cleverness and wit on the battlefield. What happened to battle tactics in ancient Britain? Thanks Eric.

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

The Danes attacked at Ethandun - and lost - so I'm not sure it's a case of whoever advances the shield wall first will win. And I'm not sure there's been a loss of strategic skill. At Ethandun Alfred can't be too clever because he's desperate and the Danes have the advantage of position. My own feeling is that Alfred wasn't a particularly good battlefield tactician, but he certainly gets the strategy right in the rest of his reign - as future books will show. It's true there's no great general like Alexander in sight, but how many eras do have such leaders? I suspect fighting methods are pretty crude in Saxon times. There was no real missile weapon (other than short-range spears and longer range, but lightweight, hunting bows), and plainly the fyrd did not have the discipline of a Roman army or a Greek phalanx, but they were still experienced and their leaders, who lived in a world at war, were not fools. They just had rather blunt weapons with which to fight!

Q

I've only just recently entered the written world of the Saxons, and it's been a hugely exhilirating ride that I never want to get off. I await Lords of the North with baited breath! Pray tell ... will our journey take us into old Dalriada, or across the sea to Ireland at some point down the road? Heather McDougall

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

Not in The Lords of the North, no, but I suspect Uhtred's life won't be complete without a voyage to Ireland, and I'm pretty certain he'll also get to Salriada.

Q

Mr Cornwell: I (and my father) love your Sharpe series. I have read 6 of the books and intend to read them all. We were introduced to Sharpe through the series on an American public televison station. I think your talent for storytelling and capturing the condition of a soldier from the beginning of the 19th century is extraordinary. Sharpe is also a deep and interesting character. I believe in some of the simple values that Sharpe practices. His barbarity is a matter of necessity and experience, not pleasure, or so I think and hope. I also hope that some of Sharpe's values are not just fictions for you, but reflect something personal.

I have a couple of questions, and pls. feel no obligation to answer. Which do you think are your best works, Sharpe or otherwise?

What authors (no limits here) do you enjoy? I am also a big C.H. Forrester fan and both my father and son take a lot of fun from reading Hornblower novels. As an American, Virginian if that means anything to you, I wonder what it is about England that enables such meaningful, literate and compelling sagas and characters in adventure novels? Many thanks for your time and work and with appreciation and warmth, Sutton Stern

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

Personal? He's grumpy like me, but all his virtues are his own! Sharpe's philosophy is really very simple - a soldier fights for those who cannot fight for themselves, and I like that in him. He also behaves appallingly badly from time to time, which is interesting and (at least by me) forgiveable. Thanks!

Lord knows. My favourite books (of mine) are the three Arthurian tales (Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur), but I'm monstrously fond of Mister Sharpe, and very fond of certain books (Trafalgar, Company, Siege).

I don't know why the British tend to throw up authors of military historical sagas - odd, really, but they do - C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian, Dudley Pope, Alexander Kent, and B Cornwell among others. Maybe the one thing we all have in common is that our heroes, splendid fellows, beat up the French, which is A Good Thing, and you must therfore blame successive US governments for their signal failure in not declaring war on the French every so often in order to supply American authors with worthy subject matter. That sounds flippant, but I'm not sure it isn't true!

Q

My favourite Sharpe book was Sharpe's Prey. I like it when you go off the beaten track like that. Everyone's heard about Waterloo but few know of the Danish angle. You also brought Saxon England to life effortlessly. Reading Melvyn Bragg's 'The Adventure of English' it's amazing how much our language has changed since those times. I noted the stunning contrast between your ninth and nineteenth centuary Danes. You wouldn't be calling Ubba a neutral poor darling. I'd like to see you do more stuff set in less obvious historical circumstances. I'd say you'd do a great job on tenth centuary Iceland when the country was being settled (their language has hardly changed at all since) or a book set during the thirty years war on the continent (1618-1648). Looking forward to The Lords of the North. Regards Tony (Ireland)

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

It's kind of you - thank you - for the moment I'll stick with the ninth century, only because that story is unfinished, and it will rescue some forgotten history - especially the (true) tale of Athelflaed, the Lady of Mercia. Thirty Years War? I'll think on it!

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am a huge fan of all things Norse/Viking. That is what drew me to your Saxon books. I just finished A Pale Horseman and thoroughly enjoyed it. And, even though it had less Norse characters in it then The Last Kingdom, I enjoyed it more. Uthred's attack on the Viking ship was very well done. But, enough praise . . . the real reason I am writing is that I love the cover art for the recently released U.S. paperback edition of The Last Kingdom. I was wondering if that cover is available in poster form. If you do not know, whom from your publisher should I contact?

Finally, as an aficionado of "Viking" literature, I would like to recommend one that I enjoyed immensely, Saga by Jeff Janoda. Have you read it, and if you have, what are your thoughts? If you haven't, read it! Looking forward to your next work, Charles Ogan Warrenville, IL

Submitted March 31, 2006

A

Unfortunately there isn't a poster, although the publisher feels it's a good idea so maybe one for a future book?

I haven't, I will! Thank you