Your Questions

Hello Mr Cornwell, I was watching a fascinating programme on UK TV recently dealing with the possible illegitimate claim to the English throne of Edward IV in 1461, and this has prompted me to write to you. As I'm sure you know, Edward VI was supposedly the eldest son of Richard, Duke of York and was born in Rouen on April 28, 1442. To cut a long story short, records in Rouen cathedral clearly show that Richard was not with his wife in Rouen at the time of Edward's conception around the 1st week of August 1441 - he was on campaign in Pontoise (several days march away) from July 14th-Aug 28th. Edward was a very tall man who bore little resemblence to Richard and questions regarding his paternity were raised by prominent people of the time (Richard Neville - Earl of Warwick, George, Duke of Clarence to name a few). It was suggested that his real father was an archer called Blaybourne. Do you anticipate extending the 'archer' series to include this period and the Wars of the Roses - with the aforementioned archer perhaps being one of Thomas' descendants? Kind regards Mike Woffinden

Mister Cornwell you are a legend. I read the Winter King (By far your best book) as a 15 year old and was tranfixed. Since then I have gone on to read as much of your works as possible and joined the growing number of fans you have here in Australia. Your books have in many ways inspired me and, as many who love books do, I have began my own novel. That all aside my question is this: The Sharpe books (i have only read the first few) seem to follow a distinct pattern such as loosing/finding jewels/woman etc. Do you agree and if so is it intentional? Mike Tyler

Dear Mr Cornwell First of all I would like to thank you for making my Dad's Christmas. I bought both Sharpe's Skirmish and Sharpe's Christmas via the Sharpe Appreciation Society. He had no idea that these books existed (not having access to the Internet), so it was a wonderful surprise, especially since you had taken the trouble to sign them both. I am now waiting to see him again so that I can read them myself! I am writing to ask whether there are any plans to release Sharpe's War on DVD. Dad did record it for me, but neither of our video recorders were up to the task of watching it! Both are older than Sharpe I think. It would make a wonderful Father's day present for him, not to mention a "to me from me pressie" Looking forward to reading the rest of Sharpe's Escape. Any plans to come back to Lincoln to publicise this? Yours Helen Heywood Friends of Lincoln Castle Longbow Group

Dear Mr. Cornwell, best wishes to you and your family and I wish you a happy new year. I noticed on your diary page that you were planning a Canadian leg on your tour promoting Sharpe's Escape this spring, any information on where you will stop, or when that information would be available? Also, as an author who has read C S Forester's Hornblower books what do you think of the recent TV miniseries based on them that have been made over the last few years? All the best and thanks again for the great stories. Zachary Mallett

Hello!! Just finished Trafalgar - BRAVO!!! My favorite Sharpe so far!! Being a huge fan of Hornblower and Aubrey/Maturin, I feel that your Trafalgar is every bit as good a sea story as anything by Forester or O'Brian. I was wondering, in planning the storyline for Trafalgar, did you consider having Sharpe onboard the Victory during the battle? If so, what changed your mind? Best Regards, Tom

Sir: Am enthralled with GALLOWS THIEF. Am wondering if this will become a "series"? Am an avid bibliophile with my own two story library. Only appreciate hardboud books, therefore, will HarperCollins Publishers continue to produce hardbound copies of the Sharpe series in the future? Thank you in advance for answering me & most especially thank you for your wonderful books. You've got a gift. Regards, FA Krull, MD

Dear Mr. Cornwell, First of all, allow me to wish you a very happy (and productive!) new year. You've made my 2003 enjoyable due to my discovery of your books and your terrific web site, and I'm looking forward to more great reads! I took a little detour from Sharpe to read Redcoat. Enjoyed it very much. It's very different from the Sharpe books in that it focuses more on relationships than battle. Sharpe's Revenge does, too, and I think so far that's my favorite Sharpe book. I'm still loving the Image gallery; I wonder when you'll add to it?? Also, in some of your books you've mentioned other texts from which you've gleaned information, and I was wondering if you could put a bibliography of sorts on the website for those of us who want to read more about the history of India, for instance, but don't know where to begin. It seems that whenever I write to you I ask you for something! I hope you don't find me too annoying! Thanks so much for your time. Carol Okano

Thanks a lot for clearing up my confusion in respect to Sharpe returning to Wapping. I have one more question for you, what ever happend to Angel from Sharpe's Honour. or is one of those Situations where I'll be forced to use my imagination? thanks a lot - Chris Horgan

I am a big fan of your Arthur trilogy and the Grail Quest Series. I was wondering if you are planning to write novels about World War II? If not, I was wondering what other story plot ideas you had in mind? Matt

read all your non-Sharpe books - now on #9 in Sharpe series - reading in chronological order which raised this question: the first books published dealt with the penisular campaign but in those books there were references to Sharpe's adventures in India and Denmark - had you planned to go back in time with now published stories and planted those details or was this just background material that later developed into those earlier stories? Rob Rose