Your Questions

Q

Over the last 3 years or so you have become my favorite author. I have now read all your books except the one off novels. I am currently reading the Last Kingdom and am struck by a certain linked theme to the 3 Arthur books. In the Arthur books you featured the conflict between the Britons and invading germanic peoples, Last Kingdom is set during the conflicts between the 'English' and the Danes. Both periods of history are so key to the nature of present day Britain. In a similar fashion the Roman invasion of Britain and the Norman conquest are important. Any chance of novels set at these periods?
William Allen

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

I've given it some thought - but no plans for either at the moment.

Q

Dear Bernard, I must say that you are my favorite author, and I do read quite a bit. My favorites are the Arthur books and I've read them several times; of course I love Sharpe and Thomas of Hookton also. I can understand ending the Grail Quest but I would like to ask if you have given thought to a "prequel" to the Grail Quest. I could see you doing amazing things with the Cathars, Montsegur, the early Vexille family, and the Dark Lords. I find the Albinginsian Crusade to be endlessly intriquing (much to the chagrin of my Catholic wife!!!). I understand you will be busy for years on the new project and am anxiously awaiting book number two in October (Maybe January in the States), but hope that perhaps the Dark Lords can lure you into telling their story. Best regards and continued health and success. Mark Chapman

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

Sounds good! I'll think on it!

Q

Hello, Firstly can I say that I thoroughly enjoyed the Grail quest trilogy. I did have one query which concerned the Black Death towards the end of Heretic. It is my understanding that the form of plague described in your book is actually Pneumonic and not Bubonic plague which you mention in your historical notes. I'm aware that Bubonic is historically the correct path to use as this did indeed kill off 33% of the European populous. With Pneumonic plague, the first signs of illness are fever, headache, weakness, and rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery sputum. These are almost the same symptoms as described in your book. However it is true that Bubonic can turn into Pneumonic if left untreated. As Bubonic can only be caught predominantly by fleabites or by untreated wounds coming into contact with the disease I personally can't see that the plague referred to in Heretic was anything other than Pneumonic. I will be interested to hear your views on this. Best regards, Simon McCartan

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

Don't have views. I'm aware of the discussion amongst proper historians - whether it was buboinic plague or anthrax or something else, but I took the view that the men and women of the fourteenth century didn't know, so I didn't need to make a decision! My own inclination is to think it was pneumonic, but I deliberately left it vague so that I didn't get entangled with the controversy!

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell, I read all your books and loved every one of them. I thank you very much for all these wonderful hours of reading. I find it great that you take some of your precious time to answer messages from your fans. As you probably deduced from my first sentences, English is not my first language : I'm half French, half Belgian. Though I'm a big big fan of Sharpe, I have the feeling that you are a bit unfair with the "Frogs". Soult, for example, is almost ridiculous in your Sharpe's Havoc novel though everything I read about him leads me to believe that he was a great soldier. Don't you agree ? In the historical note at the end of Sharpe's Havoc, you write that you couldn't find news of Major Dulong after the Saltador. I found a quote about him on the napoleonic-literature.com website : he supposedly was made Colonel and died in 1828. It would be nice if Sharpe was to meet him again ... I'm considering writing a novel about Dulong : do you know if it has already been done by someone before ? Thank you again for your great books : I just finished The Last Kingdom and can't wait for the Pale Horseman !!! Fabrice CORNET

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

I've never come across a novel about Dulong, and he'd make a great hero - so good luck! I don't think I was unfair to Soult in Sharpe's Havoc - it all happened much as I describe it. There were lots of terrific French Marshals and generals, their problem was that they never quite worked out how to deal with Wellington.

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell What do you think of Macmillan's New Writing scheme? (Link here http://www.panmacmillan.com/aboutPan/macmillannewwriting.html to save you looking it up). Opinion seems to be about evenly split over whether it is a genuine attempt to find new writers, whether it is some kind of scam (although if it is a scam, I can't see what Macmillan get out of it), or whether it is simply a bad idea doomed to failure (because literary agents already know every writer who has talent). If the scheme had been in existence when you were trying to find a publisher for the first Sharpe book, would you have considered it? What chiefly puzzles me is the logistics of assessing many hundreds of submissions. From your experience of the publishing industry (and your editor's?), do you think it's possible for a publisher to do that, and how might they go about it? Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the subject. Carole

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

I don't know a thing about it, sorry. Anything that encourages manuscripts to publishers seems to me a good thing, though, and if that benefits MacMillan, why not? MacMillan, like every publisher, knows that there are good writers out there, and lots of them don't get apprehended by agents, so perhaps this is a good way of beating the bushes. Can they make it work? Dunno. My publisher certainly reads unsolicited manuscripts. They want writers! Forgive me for not looking into it in detail, but I can't think it's a bad thing, and if it turns up a couple of good writers then that's good news.

Q

Mr. Cornwell, I am a big fan of the Starbuck Chronicles. I was wondering if you visited the battlegrounds before writing? I have visited most of the US Civil war Eastern theater battle fields including camping at Harpers Ferry on the remains of a Union abatis. Which promted me to re-read The Bloody Ground. Please continue the Starbuck Chronicles. Donald Senkbeil

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

Yes I did - I try to visit all the battlefields depicted in my books.

Q

Hi Bernard, I have recently finished rereading The Winter King which I first read in 1996 (making me 14!). I have also completed The Last Kingdom and note similarities between the protagonists - namely that Uhtred and Derfel were both captured and reared by their enemies. I was wondering if there is a particular reason behind this or if this is a method of writing that you find comes easily to you? I would also like to say how much I am enjoying the Sharpe series, particularly the attention to detail and description of battles. The Arthurian trilogy stands out as my favourite of your works and I am thoroughly enjoying revisiting it. Jenn

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

Gosh, I never noticed! You're quite right. I suspect it is some deep psychological flaw in me, and have to tell you that it's much too late to make a correction. But thanks for pointing it out.

Q

I would like to know why I can't find the book Heretic in italian Language. thank you and compliments for your books. Pier

Submitted August 10, 2005

A

I do believe the Italian publisher, Longanesi, does have plans to publish Heretic in Italian - perhaps it's not out yet? You may want to contact the publisher directly for more information.

Q

Hi there - yet more questions about Warlord I'm afraid! How do you actually pronounce Nimue? And what do you think happened to her after Camlann? Adam

Submitted August 8, 2005

A

Nim-you-ay. And I've never wondered what happened to her. A nice question, but alas, not one I can answer!

Q

I just finished reading The Last Kingdom and I loved it. This is one of my favorite periods of English history and I've found so little fiction written about it. In particular, I always thought that the most extraordinary person from this time was Elthelflaed, the Lady of the Mercians. I hope that she will be featured in some of your future novels.

I am rereading The Last Kingdom and enjoying it just as much as the first time. One thing I'm wondering about is the depiction of Alfred's wife, Ellswith. You aren't very flattering about her character. Is there really very much known about her? She is the mother and grandmother of some very amazing characters. Isn't it unusual for women to be mentioned at all in this time period?
Thank you for such an enjoyable read. Ann Madonna

Submitted August 8, 2005

A

She's there, in The Last Kingdom! Very young, of course, just a baby, and in the next book, The Pale Horseman, she appears again, but still only a child. I think you can guarantee that if she's present in those early books then I intend to use her in later ones - indeed, I've long known that she's the heroine of the whole series!

We know next to nothing about her - and I've probably been unfair to her. We do know she came from northern Mercia and that her father was an ealdorman. It was fairly usual for high-born women to be mentioned, because they had status, so we have the names of many noble and royal wives. We know a lot about Aelswith's daughter, Ethelflaed, because she became the Lady of Mercia and led armies against the Danes. We know a fair bit about some prominent abbesses. But it was still a man's world, and how.