Your Questions

Q

Bernard

 

I have seen the trailer for the Starbuck Movie for quite a while. But can find no information on when it will be finished, or when it might be shown on TV. Do you have any Idea on when this might be finished or brought to TV? Thanks for any information you can give me. And your books are Great. Please keep writing.

Dave K

A

I know nothing! I suspect, like most projects, it has fallen by the wayside.


Q

Hello,

 

Has you ever been approached by another author wondering if they could write an original work of fiction about one of your character(s) i.e Richard Sharpe or Nate Starbuck etc ?

 

How do you feel about it in general? A compliment really.

Regards and thanks,

 

Adrian.

A

I have, and it is a compliment, but they can use their own characters!


Q

I've read and re read all 10 (so far) of the last kingdom books and I'm struggling to work out where Osferth is. The Last I read he was looking after Uhtred's cousins wife and child. But nothing that I can see is mentioned in the following books other than Uhtred heard she and the boy died. I was mildly disappointed that he didn't help retake Bebbanburg in book 10. Can you shed any light on the situation?

Chris Barber

A

He did take a back seat in The Flame Bearer,but that doesn't mean he's vanished.  When I start the next book I'll know more!

 


Q

Have you ever thought about doing a full roman series or stand alone novel? What about Mithridates of Pontus? he seems amazing!

Steven

A

I have no plans for the Romans.


Q

I know that many authors have already tackled the Knights Templar and Hospital, But I would welcome your view on these subjects? Do you think this would ever be a possibility for you?

Steve

A

I have given it some thought - but it's not high on the list.


Q

Hi Bernard,

Loving the Last Kingdom TV series, is it true that Alexander Dreymon only got the part because of his striking resemblance to you?

No matter how good the series is it's only a fraction of the pure pleasure we get from the books. Here comes the question....

It's late March now and we usually get a book in October that's only 6 months away.... will you tell us what it is please?  You did mention an Elizabethan book a while ago.

Whatever it is I'll be outside Waterstones on the day and will have it devoured that week.

Mike

By the way I did hear that Sean Bean only got the part because of his striking resemblance to you too?

 

I've just heard that you're writing a book based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. I mean, what? Is that's true? Are you finally entering on the fantasy area? Please, make those elfs bleed

Eilton Ribeiro

 

Good Day Mr Cornwell,

Yes I thoroughly enjoy reading all you books, and I am gradually completing my hardback collection of the Sharpe series but I digress. I checked your web pages to find out when you are going to publish book 11 of the 'Last Kingdom' series but I noticed that in one of your answers you said that this would not be your next published book, can I ask what the subject is going to be or would that be asking too much. Many thanks for the joy that you give to me and all your avid readers,

Ian

 

A

I’ll go back to Uhtred next year! For this year I’m finishing a book called Fools and Mortals which is a story set around the first production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1595.

There’s no fantasy! In the winter of 1595 (old style, New Year in March) Shakespeare’s company first produced and performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What happens on stage might be fantastic, but the process of staging a play in 1595 was hard, unrelenting work. That’s the story, not the tale of Fairy kings and queens!


Q

You do a really good job of researching your historical facts with what sources are to hand, so I was wondering how and from what source you were able to determine the ages of the brothers Lodbrok.  While their deaths seem fixed with some reasonable degree of accuracy, the only indication I have of the age of either brother is an unsourced wiki claim that Ivar was born in 794 (which seems highly dubious for a man on active and constant campaign in the 860s-70s).  Based on what you've said throughout the first three books (that Ivar's son is old enough to be Uhtred's father) and your description of Ubba as going gray where previously he was white, I'm assuming that Ivar was in his late forties to early fifties when he died, and Ubba about the same, with Ivar Ivarrson likewise in his forties.  Is that the right idea?  How did you ultimately estimate this, and what sources did you use?  I'd really love to know.

 

Steven

A

I’m fairly sure I simply guessed their ages! The records really don’t help much and were probably contradictory, and it is fiction! They call it licence, so I took it!


Q

Dear Bernard

 

I've just finished reading the Uhtred books again and the question I've been thinking about is would there have been an England in a similar time period without the catalyst of the Danish invasions? I've read that there seems to have been an ongoing struggle between the various kingdoms of England in the preceding centuries but no one seems to have emergent dominant for any significant time period until after the Danish invasions gradually left Wessex as the only remaining and then strongest Saxon kingdom as the Danes were pushed back. So I'm without the Danes would the four kingdoms of England have likely remained separate for much longer?

 

Though I appreciate it's only possible to speculate I would be grateful on any views you have on this matte as someone who has written extensively about that time period and events before and after?

 

I'm a big fan of the idea of alternate history but find it unfortunate that most writing on it seems to mainly focus on the 20th century when there seems to over a thousand years of fascinating history before that where things could have been vastly different.

 

regards

 

Matthew

A

That’s a very interesting question!  I suspect the answer is that the Danish threat was indeed the catalyst for the creation of a unified England. A common enemy makes unlikely alliances work. The destruction of the Anglo-Saxon dynasties of the northern kingdoms helped, leaving the Wessex dynasty as the one viable replacement. If personal ambition had got in the way (i.e. someone unwilling to surrender a throne) then it would all have been messier and probably taken longer. So yes. We can thank the Danes for England!

 


Q

Mr. Cornwell,

When will Uhtred's story continue? I can't wait!

I LOVE your work,

Janice Forler

 

Hello,

I just finished reading The Flame Bearer (great!) and was wondering if there will be an 11th book?

Thank you

Andrea

 

Mr Cornwell,

I am enjoying the TV series, but would love to know if/when we will get the next book in the series.

Many thanks for all your books.

Carol

A

I will most likely write a new Uhtred next year.


Q

Bonjour Mr Cornwell.

Je suis un fan absolu de la saga d'Uthred depuis plusieurs années et j'ai le regret de voir qu'il n'y a toujours pas de traduction pour les tomes après Sword song... Pourrons nous,  un jour, avoir la joie de lire la suite en français?

 

Sorry, I don't speak english but i'm à big fan of your books.... In french...

 

Thank you

Francois Champion

 

Hello,

I'm french and I read many of your books, in french when there is a translation, and in english when there is not. (Saxon tale, Grail quest, War lord, Azincourt...) I would be happy to reread them in French if a French editor would have the good idea to publish a French edition. My English is not current, and some things escape me, and it makes me so disappointed..

Do you know if there is a project about that ? So many bad and horrible foreign books are translated in French, and yours are not, it's a pity ! Many French readers wait for it.

My 22 years old daughter read Warlord two times and Stonhenge in french, and loved it. She is reading Lords of the North in french, and I'm so disappointed to think that she will cannot read more than the fourth because she will not have enough patience to translate it. Your english is very clear and easy to understand for us but there are many words in the Uthred world we didn't learn at school and practice in our life. Reverso is my friend !

Actually I look forward the Flame Bearer, thank you for so pleasure !

Emmanuelle

A

Bonjour!  I'm sorry to say, it seems there are no plans for more books in French translation at this time.