Your Questions

Dear Mr. Cornwell, greetings.

I must congratulate you. Just read all of the Saxon Series books in the last 3 months and I'm thrilled with it.

Any idea when we will have a sequel? Sorry for the impatience.

Kind regards

Guilherme Levenhagen

 

 

I have spent many enjoyable years reading your fantastic books and have just raced through your latest two. My favourite is the Saxon Tales series.

I know you have only just released The Empty Throne but are you planning to publish another installment soon.

If not what's next?

Thanks,

Steve Ramsden

Dear Bernard

Firstly let me express my admiration for your body of work, including the recent  non-fiction debut with "Waterloo".

The following may be (or is even likely) old news to you as probably someone has picked up on it and i haven't checked through all the comments pages etc.

Do you realise that you "assign" the command of the 52nd regiment at Waterloo to both Sir John Colborne and Sir John Colville - including on the same page 327 - in your book? The latter is incorrect I believe as he was in command of the force at Hal.

Thankyou again for the enjoyment you have provided over the years.

Matthew Gregory

 

Hi Bernard,

I just finished reading The Empty Throne and have one question. Is Berg Skallagrimmrson a fictional character or a real person in history? The book mentioned that by sparing his life Uthred made Afred's dream of England come true, but I couldn't find any details of Berg on Wiki and he wasn't mentioned in your Historical Note section.

Thanks!

Thongchai

Hi Bernard

Hope you are well

Great website and I love your work

Can I please ask you views on the following?

I have just finished my debut novel. Luckily I found an agent who really likes my work and wants to get me published.

My novel is basically about a guy who is in prison. From inside the prison a con is being perpetrated of which my main character has no idea but from which he will benefit at the end of the book. In other words there is essentially 2 related stories which converge and resolve themselves at the very end. Now my main character does get some idea of the other story through over-hearing conversations and finding notes in the prison etc. However my agent insists that the novel must be in the first person throughout, But how can I have my main character ever present when he's locked up? Also there's only so many coincidences you can introduce without stretching credulity. I'm so depressed now as I think the agent will drop me but, anyone who has read the book thinks its great.

Any advice?

cheers Bernard

derek

Hi. Love all of your books. I have just finished this book and wondered why you include Droitwich in your place names list even though it is not mentioned in the novel. I only ask because I was born in the nearby village of Wychbold and was excited at the prospect of the town appearing in your novel. I know Droitwich and etchings have connections with Saxon royalty so do you plan to use Droitwich in future?

Kind regards,

Rob Walker

Congratulations on Uhtred's latest book. The Last Kingdom and the Pale Horseman were always my favourite books in the series but I have LOVED the two most recent ones. I think the stories have come alive recently through Uhtred's children and the pages just melt away reading about them. What I love most about them is that each of them have a core part of Uhtred about them.

There's Uhtred who is every bit the warrior that his father is.

There's father Judas who is every bit as stubborn as his father is.

And there's Stiorra who is every bit the anarchist her father is.

I loved the suspense of the opening chapter where Uhtred the younger was the protagonist, will we see more chapters like this in the series? Was it much different writing from his perspective? I was disappointed to not see father Judas in this book and can only pray (to all the gods) he will crop up in the next book.

Thank you,

James Trethowan

Hi Bernard,

I am currently reading empty throne, really loving it (although all the years getting to know him, I'm still not a fan of Uthred he's far too arrogant, needs a good humbling) I was just wondering for no reason other than wondering sake.

If you could meet Wellington or Napolean face to face and ask either of them one question who would it be, and what would you ask?

Thanks for indulging me

James.

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

Firstly thank you for all the hours of enjoyment your books have given me over the years. The Sharpe series in particular. Sean Bean's portrayal of which in the TV series inspired many a table top skirmish in my youth, which often gave me a welcome escape from things at home.

I was doing a little online researching (for a novel that I am sure I have inside me somewhere) of what was my local regiment (born in Halifax) The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding), when I realised they were formerly the 33rd Regiment of Foot

This is something that I hadn't made the connection with for all these years but I'm guessing that it was intentional that Sharpe enlisted in the regiment (if memory serves me correctly) that would many years later be renamed in honour of the man who raised him from the ranks?

And also, given the 'Dukes' regimental motto 'Fortune Favours The Brave', was that in your thoughts too, when thinking of the character Sharpe would become?

Oh, and did Sharpe ever eat a havercake?

All the very best and thank you once more.

Dave.

Dear Mr Cornwell,

Thank you for diligence and craft in producing so many wonderful books, They are both a real joy to read and also educational.  (Up until the recent publication of your history 'Waterloo' I always used to hold up your novel 'Sharpe's Waterloo' as the best description of that confusing battle that had ever been written.) I notice that in one of your responses to a letter that you suggest George MacDonald Fraser as an author for further reading. Would I be correct in assuming that you have also read 'The Steel Bonnets', his scholarly and readable history of the Anglo-Scottish Borders Reivers, and the associated anarchy and turbulence?  If you have, have you ever been tempted to write a novel based around some of those huge real-life characters?

Yours aye

Keith Wren

Dear mr. Cornwell.

As a historical novelist, how obliged do you feel to write your books following what is described in the history books? Is there a limit to change history in your favour?

I'm beginning to write, and you are the author who most inspires me!

Thank you for your answers!

Maílson.