Your Questions

Hi Bernard I've noticed that quite a few people ask whatever happened to Jane Sharpe (and the general consensus seems to be a hope that she comes to a sticky end!) Readers of Mark Adkins book 'The Sharpe Companion' will note he states that Sharpe finally marries Lucille in 1844 after the death of Jane. The implicaton is that Jane has not long been dead at this time so she must have been in her fifties when she died (I can't remember how old she was when we first met her). Presumably also she was not impoverished as I think she still had the money she stole from Sharpe. Unless she married bigamously the money remained hers and never passed into the control of a husband. Hey, maybe Sharpe gets it back in the end as her next of kin - although she could have had children of course. Indeed she was pregnant at Waterloo wasn't she? Of course there is a lot of water under the bridge between 1815 and 1844 (and I doubt she moved in the circles to which she aspired) - maybe you will tell us about it one day! Regards, Fiona

I have been a tremandous fan of yours, and one of the highlights of the year is when a new novel by you come out. One of my favorite characters is Father Curtis of "Sharpe's Sword" who I realize is an actual historical figure, but I have not been able to find any information on him outside of your novel. May I ask in what source you found him? Neil Cosgrove

Just wanted to let you know that I am a big fan of the Grail Quest, Arthur series and the sailing adventures. Oddly, I have not yet read any Sharpe books, but rather like the older historical works. In fact the Last Kingdom was terrific and I look forward to reading the Pale Horseman. Having grown up in Michigan, I raced yachts along with my brother many times, so the sailing adventures appeal to him as well. We raced in the Chicago to Mackinac race this summer (a 3 day storm-filled adventure), and I had brought along my Stormchild book to read when I was off-shift. After telling the guys about your book during the course of the race, all 19 guys in the crew are now interested in reading your books. I just finished reading a non-fiction book on the battle of Agincourt. a fantastic battle. I imagined the soldiers from one of your Grail novels screaming "St. George" as he swung his sword. Being of Irish heritage, I was wondering if you could recommend any fiction or non-fiction accounts of any medieval Ireland battles. Unfortunately since you have not yet tackled that topic, I figure you may be able to direct me to something that you enjoyed reading. My guess is that you do a tremendous amount of reading yourself to do your research, so hopefully you may have come accross a good one or two you could recommend. If you ever decide to write anything about medieval Ireland I am sure people will be lined up to buy the books. And I would be the first in line. Keep up the fantastic work. you provide a fantastic escape into another world for your readers. and for that I am very grateful. Bob Burke

Sorry to hear that you were in ill health. Hope all is better now. I will probably get booed off the website for saying this, but would you consider putting Sharpe in retirement? Not that I don't love the guy, but he's had a great run. English history is so rich I would love to see you write about other eras. Agincourt perhaps, or who some consider the greatest monarch Elizabeth. Michael Calkins

Hi, I'm from Brazil (another one!) and as you can see, your book really is famous in here. My question to you is, what would it change if Arthur had helped Tristan ? I mean, would king Mark certanly make a war ? couldn't Arthur make a deal ? Another question is, why did you had to kill Cuneglas ??? Is that historical or you invented ? Have you ever considered writing the history of Arthur when he was a boy, created by Merlin ? Or writing a continuation of the history, of Derfel and Ceinwyn ?? I know you must be very busy, from your very short anwsers, and I will absolute not blame you for doing as well for me. As for many others, your book really touched me, because I'm from Brazil, I don't really know the history of Arthur, but from what I've heard or seen in the movies, your version is without a doubt the best one ever. I really encourage you for taking Arthur to the big screen and I hope you can come here for autographs. Before finishing, I would like to apologize for every grammatical mistake, or whatever mistake I make in English, as you can see, I'm very young, but still a big fan of yours. Thankyou for giving this great experience (you must be tired from hearing all this, but it is really true) and I apologize once again for my bad english. Another one of your big fans, Michel

Hello Mr. Cornwell, Thank you for so many wonderful tales, I especially enjoy both the historical aspects of each book and your knowledge of sailing. Have you ever considered writing a pirate tale based in the 18th century Caribbean? I'd love to see what you could do with it. Eric Schott

Mr. Cornwell, I have read almost all of your books and have especially enjoyed your King Arthur Trilogy and your latest on King Alfred. Have you ever thought of writing a series on Robin Hood and place it in a more real world than the traditional comic/romantic world that Robin Hood has been done in? I feel that you did a magnificent job of telling King Arthur in a realistic manner that brought the legend to life. It would be wonderful to see the same done to Robin Hood who is such a tremendous legend. Thank you and keep up the good work! David Bliss

I am just writing to ask when the follow up to The Pale Horseman will be published? Thank you for any information. Andy

I have never read your books before as i tend to enjoy historical mysteries,like the ones written by the late Bruce Alexander. I just finished your Gallows Thief and very much liked it. I liked the way you wrote it, the measured opening chapter becoming so important later. Do you plan on bringing Rider Sandman back in another book? I hate to whine but I would love to read another but thank you for writing this one. Mary Bennison

Hello Mr. Cornwell - I am a member of the Bean Box Board and I was posting an answer to a fellow members question regarding my husband's brain aneurism and told the ladies the story of how I became a Sean Bean fan, they are urging me to send it along to you because they thought you might find it interesting to know. Here is the full un-edited message: Yes, Nancy, my hubby had a brain aneurism - he's had no lingering problems at all, and it is a direct responsibility for me becoming a gushing Sean Bean Fan! Trev works shift as a power engineer - he needs to have a bit of entertainment before heading off to bed on day shifts and tv is still stuck in the family viewing mode, so knowing he was a great fan of historical movies - I bought him the complete set of Sharpe -as he complained that he'd missed a few episodes due to work back when the series was only available on video (5 - 6 years ago I bought them, and very pricey indeed!) After returned from the hospital, when his thinking was still fuzzy and memory was just not there - (he at first assumed it was 1988 when we were first dating - and didn't know who our sons were - but thought they were really nice boys!:heart )Trev sat and viewed Sharpe episodes over and over again - totally fascinated by the historical fact behind the series and rebuilding his brain pathways as a result (his aneurism was located very deeply inside his brain and there was a very big worry that he wouldn't be able to recover some memory). He couldn't read at this point - so his collection of history books were not too useful. So, I sat and watched the episodes for the first time with him two years ago - and got hooked! Trev had a follow-up CAT scan a few weeks ago - and it turned out perfect - but he also had a fasting glucose test and his now eating a diabetes diet (not truly a problem, compared to how close we came to losing him - except he insists on saying at least once a meal - moo and baa due to the high veggie total of his diet!) So, even though I don't wish to meet Sean face-to-face, if I did, or if someone I knew was going to meet him, I'd like Sean to know the impact of Sharpe on returning my hubby back to me as his true self. Sean gave me my most priceless gift back - and doesn't know he did a thing! (Getting teary, dang!). Wendy Andres