Your Questions

Hello.

With the latest Sharpe book being delayed for a year, did you start work on the book for 2023, please?  I know that you rarely think beyond the next book.  Or will it just be Sharpe's Command this year?

Thank you,

Andrew S., Leeds.

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

I hope this letter finds you well. As a recent fan of your work, I am writing to express my gratitude, and to let you know how your Sharpe Books reignited my love of reading. I began Sharpe in June of 2021, after having gone without reading fiction for nearly fifteen years. This long hiatus from novels didn’t occur for lack of trying, but each fiction piece I had picked up in the intervening years had failed to immerse me in the story. That was until I found Sharpe’s Tiger.

I read the first few pages while still in the book store, and found I couldn’t put it down. Excited to learn how Sharpe would fare in his first real battle, I headed to the register to make the purchase, and after finishing the story within a few days (which was quite the achievement for me) I went and bought every remaining book in the series. It became part of my morning and evening routine to sit on my porch or beside the reading lamp, living vicariously through Sharpe for a few hours of each day.

One of the reasons I believe the series caught my interest (besides that fact that I have a longstanding fascination with history) was because, as an American, I’ve often felt this era has been glossed over within our national consciousness. It always seemed that we jumped right from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War with hardly a mention of the events in between. Sharpe opened up a newfound appreciation for the early 19th century that has since inspired me to learn more about, not only the Anglo-Mysore Wars and Napoleonic Wars, but The War of 1812 and the Barbary Wars as well.

In late 2022, I finally completed the last book, Sharpe’s Devil. While finishing the series has been bittersweet, I was pleased to learn you have been working on another book in the series, Sharpe’s Command. However, I was sorry to hear that you had been facing health concerns during its writing. As someone who has faced my own health issues, I would like to wish you a full and speedy recovery. While I am excited to read the latest installment, I am just glad to hear you’re taking the time to prioritize your health.

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for writing the masterpiece that is the Sharpe Books. Reading them was a welcome escape during a stressful year, and I am grateful that I stumbled upon them when I did.

I very much look forward to reading more of your works in the months and years to come.

Sincerely,

Dan O'Malley

P.S. I just read on the contact page above that you sometimes give talks. Do you have plans for any in the Wilmington, North Carolina area in the near future? If so, it would be an honor to attend!

 

I have read many of your books and have so enjoyed collecting them, and one day soon I am hopeful I may have the pleasure of meeting you.  I am of Scottish, Norway and Denmark and Swedish and Iceland Bloodline and as a child my friends all played with GI Joes and I for some strange reason was drawn to Viking Dolls.  I still have a few of these Viking dolls in my collection that I once played with as a very young boy.  I can't explain the pull but now that I have traced my family roots and DNA I am drawn to fiction and non fiction historical accounts of my family's history.  Your stories have captured what I had as a young boy, and rekindled a love of reading and of my love of history.

Thank you for bringing these characters into my life and please continue to write until your last breath.

Navy Veteran, Francis Patrick Brady (McDonald)

I live in western NC, will you ever be anywhere close where I can meet you in 2023 or 2024?

Frank Brady

Hi Bernard,

What was the development of Jane Gibbons? Considering you introduce the locket of her that Sharpe keeps after killing Lt Gibbons in Sharpe's Eagle, the very first book, your first conceptions of the series must have included a Jane/Sharpe romance. Did you always know it would turn out so badly? Did you think it might have a happy ending? How did that influence the Teresa character as having the Jane subplot in the back of Sharpe's mind during his marriage to Teresa, in Sharpe's Company you even mention them meeting in England, seems to indicate that you would inevitably kill off Teresa, as you did, in order to eventually fulfil the Jane/Sharpe romance.

Kind regards,

Alasdair M

Dear Bernard

The British Army Historian John Fortescue said that Ferdinand was the finest British Commander between Marlborough and Wellington, yet because he was not British most people are not even aware of him. I wondered if you could ever be tempted by some of his battles in the Seven Years War such as Minden.

Regards

Geraint

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Ferdinand_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

I would be interested in your thoughts on the actor chosen to play Uhtred in the TV series.

My own vision of Uhtred was of a FAR more masculine (and larger) man.

It made the series a little hard to watch and I have to say I enjoyed the books far more.

 

Kind regards,

Mak

Good evening Mr.Cornwell.

My question is about your recent post is this new book going to be a cookbook or have all of the historical notes from the series?

Tevin Daniels

 

Hi Bernard!

Mattias from Uppsala here. I've got a question for you that I've never seen asked or answered here before. After writing so many books in so many series and genres over many years, you must've developed as a writer. I can't see it myself as I like them all. However if you do a bit of self-analysis, in what ways do you think you've developed your writing over the years, and is there a book you really think you would've written better if you had written it today? Maybe I could even ask the question like this, is there a least favorite book of yours when you look back at all of them today? Could be for whatever reason. Plot, ending, language, writing skills, character or reception.

And lastly, I apologize but I've got to do a Cato the Elder and again ask you to not forget our dear Thomas of Hookton when considering your next book.

All the best from Scandinavia

Thank you, Bernard, for the Saxon saga. I’ve loved the Uhtred stories since the first, and I loved the last. A poignant and emotional ending on many levels – including the birth of England itself, of course. It’s perhaps a little sad that our origins remain obscure for most of us, so full credit for popularising what should really be essential and basic knowledge for the English people.

When you initially penned Uhtred of Bebbanburg, was it always your intention to culminate with the Battle of Brunanburh? My expectation, in the early days, was for the series to track the life and achievements of Alfred. I was delighted when it kept going. Did it take on a life of its own?

Awful as it is to interrupt a man’s well-earned retirement, but I think I speak for many, when I say we would love to read further books that plug into the series – possibly in the form of backstory – so that we can continue to enjoy reading about our favourite fictional Northumbrian? Or perhaps the trials and tribulations of his son?

Stephen Llewelyn

 

Yo Bernard!

Obviously a huge amount of historical research goes into your books, but what I’ve always marvelled it is the brilliance of your own invention.  The world of Derfel Cadarn fascinates me —  the little details and unexplained allusions are what make it so compelling.

I’m saddened to hear you say you only expect another ten years of life, not just selfishly because it means no more of your books, but selfishly because it causes me to consider my own mortality! I hope you enjoy your last decade a great deal. Two questions for you then:

How does it feel to have an oeuvre of work to survive you?

Why does an interest in history develop as we get older?

Owen Choules