Your Questions

Q

Patrick Lassan is Sharpe's son? Why are their last names different? Just wondering. Mike

Submitted September 21, 2004

A

Lassan is Lucille's maiden name. (Read 'Sharpe's Ransom' (the second short story contained in Sharpe's Christmas) for more detail.)

Q

Good Mr. Cornwell, I just shot through the last book of the Grail Quest series in a single day because I loved it so much, but one thing puzzles me. What on Earth ever happened to Jeanette?! She went from capturing Charles of Blois in the second book, to not appearing at all in the third! Did she ever get her son back? Or her house? Did she ever kill Belas? As you can see from my screen name, I am an avid archer, and your books have been absolute paradise for me. The English longbow is my personal favorite, though not nearly as strong as Thomas', but I am only 21, so I identify with him rather readily...or at least, I like to think I can. If you ever decide to do another book featuring the archer from Hookton, you can be sure it will be at the top of my reading list! Thanks for your time! Bobby Buls

I've just finished Heretic ,and I was wondering, is that the last or do you plan more?? Andy Crossley

Submitted September 21, 2004

A

I'm sure she survived. Maybe one day I'll tell the tale?

Q

What expertise or knowledge do you have to present your veiws in "The Archer's tale"? And how do you feel about the times that you write about in your books? Sarah Hamdan

Submitted September 21, 2004

A

Expertise and knowledge? I'm a novelist!

Q

Firstly, may I say how much I enjoy reading Sharpe, I think it must have been a blessing in disguise when the original actor got injured as Sean Bean IS Sharpe! My question is do you ever get tempted to do minor re-writes to correct continuity problems, the one that comes to mind is I have just read "Devil" for the first time and there is a fairly major reference to Sharpe seeing his first sea battle. I know you wrote "Trafalgar" several years later - do little things like this tempt you to do a minor re-write or are you happy to let each book stand on it's own? Richard Nettleton

Submitted September 21, 2004

A

Perhaps I may attempt a re-write some day to clean up the inconsistencies - but not until the series is complete - which may be several years (or longer?).

Q

Hi Bernard, I was flicking through that book you recommended, Face Of Battle, I was wondering, Do you know if soldiers in the Napoleonic wars suffered war related illnesses, for example, Trench Foot in WW1 and the Gulf War Syndrome? Thanks - Tim

Submitted September 20, 2004

A

They might well have suffered trench foot in the works in front of Badajoz - I honestly don't know, but it needs fairly long exposure to unrelentingly wet conditions in which you can't dry your feet. That was almost impossible in parts of Flanders, but fairly easy to do in most parts of Spain and Portugal. As for the Gulf War syndrome - I suspect this is post traumatic stress, and I'm quite sure they suffered from it, except that back then it wasn't recognised as such and so no one documented it- but I'm sure it happened.

Q

Is there a reason why Obadiah got away with desertion, cowardice and insubordination in Sharpe's Tiger and Fortress? The provosts might not have trusted Sharpe, but Lawford and McCandless were respected officers and should have got him the noose, they knew fine well what he was up to. Chris Pollock

Submitted September 20, 2004

A

He got away with it because I let him. As far as Obadiah is concerned, I am God. And, on the whole, I am a beneficent and kindly God, and he'd better remember it.

Q

Thank you for the book sugesstion. My county regiment, (and Harper's for it covers Donegal Derry and Tyrone as well) was formed by King Billy as is my understanding, and so I was wondering if only Protestants would have joined it? If so is that why Harper didn't join? Also, have you considered wirting about WW2? If not do you know a good Sharrpe-esque series about it? Have you ever considered doing the Irish civil war? Mickey O'Donohoe

Submitted September 17, 2004

A

Harper might have joined an Irish regiment - I'm pretty certain that by the late nineteenth century there was no sectarian divide - I could be wrong - but huge (I mean HUGE) numbers of Irish Catholics joined English regiments, and recruiting parties regularly went to Ireland, which is how Harper would have joined. They certainly didn't do it for love of King and Britain, but out of hunger - yet they made magnificent soldiers. I've never been tempted by WW2, too recent? Nor by the Irish civil war - too many exposed nerves. And I don't know a Sharpe-like series about WW2 - wish I did!

Q

Hello Mr.Cornwell, I'm a history A-Level student about to embark upon my coursework which has to be about some kind of historical dispute!! From reading your Sharpe books I have decided to do mine on an aspect of the Napoleonic Wars. At the moment have Wellington's calling the men the 'Scum of the Earth' in mind, owing to the problems still caused by this. But would you have any other ideas of conflicts from the time which I could write about, or anything to say about what Wellington said?? Many thanks for any help. Chris Gallant

Submitted September 17, 2004

A

Scum of the earth isn't a bad topic! 'They only join for drink', he went on, and for many that was true - they probably weren't the most salubrious, nicest folk you could ever meet - but, as W went on to say later - it was amazing what fine fellows the army made of them. He made the scum comment after Vitoria where they had ransacked and stolen the French army's baggage train - stuffed with treasure - which Welllington was hoping to capture to pay off the army's considerable debts - so he was, to put it mildly, piqued. I imagine Sharpe would be quite flattered to be called the scum of the earth. Other topics? Probably the fiercest at the moment is whether the British or the Germans won Waterloo - which should give you plenty of scope, though I've always thought the answer was that they both did - Wellington wouldn't have fought at Mont St Jean unless he believed Blucher was marching to help, and Blucher wouldn't have marched unless he believed W would stand and fight - but the controversy staggers on.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I have recently reread your American Civil War books and, though I enjoyed them greatly with respect to plot and authenticity, I was troubled by the fact that I really didn't like the main charactor. It's hard to understand a person like Starbuck being as passionate about a cause, at it's heart, as wrong as that of the Confederacy. One can admire Lee's loyalty to Virginia and understand the common solider's wish to defend his home and family but Starbuck's only reason to fight for a cause that enslaves and degrades vast numbers of human beings seems to be to defy his father. It would be similar to an Englishman fighting for the Germans during World War II because he didn't like the English class system and could turn a blind eye to the evil of the Nazis. Will you explore this further, if in fact you write more books in this series? How do you feel about the charactor of Starbuck? Thank you, Sean McCarthy

Submitted September 17, 2004

A

Strange to say I like him. What do you expect? And your analogy doesn't work. Taking sides in a civil war is far more complicated than Britain vs Germany, or any other international clash, and numbers of northerners fought for the south (Copperheads) and vice versa. Nor did the issue seem as straightforward to them as it does to you - the man who said that if he believed the war was being fought to free the slaves then he wouldn't fight was McClellan, commander of the north's army. History is easy with hindsight, difficult, though, to live through.

Q

Hi, I have read everything you have written and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I have also bought the DVD set of Sharpe and again I am not disappointed. My question then is this. My Mum told me about an article in a local paper (local to Kieghley, West Yorkshire) which stated that the "Real Sharpe" was buried in Utley Cemetery which is just down t'road from me. Now I know that in the novels he is supposed to have come from Keithley so I am wondering if this is right and if so who the inspiration is. Typically my Mum told me this several days after chucking out the paper. Its also fantastic to have an Englishman as a hero for a change, unlike Hollywood where we are all portrayed as snooty cads and bounders at best!!! Nigel Booth

Submitted September 17, 2004

A

My apologies to your Mum, but Sharpe is utterly fictional - and comes only from my imagination.