Your Questions

Q

Hopefully an easy question,
My husband is reading Vagabond and as we live in deepest Dorset was wondering whether Hookton is a real place? I did  a quick trawl of the internet and didn't find anything. He thinks it might be on the old Chesil Beach. I would love to be able to confirm one way or the other, and then I can get the book of him so that I can read it,
Kind regards
Jenny

A

Is Hookton a real place? It's invented - so no, there's no sign of it, but if you walk the Dorset Coast Path you can find places where it might have existed!


Q

Hello Mr. Cornwell,

Just to tell you how very much I enjoy your Sharpe books. I have all
of them, just since I happened upon them a couple years ago. I have just  finished them  for the second time.
I am hoping Sharpe and Patrick will march again soon.
But bear in mind I will be 86 in June. Although I am aiming for 100 so there is hope.
Mary Mecklenburg

A

And I hope you'll make it to 100!  I do think Sharpe and Harper will march again before then.


Q

Mr. Cornwell,
I just bought The Pagan Lord and re-read the previous 2 books in the series.
Twice now in reading I have been impressed with the character of Father Heahberht, who Uhtred met just prior to the battles at and around Beamfleot.  It seemed even Uhtred appreciated his honesty and courage.
Do you have any plans to re-introduce the character?  If not, please do- he deserves to be a Bishop, short robe and all.  A suitable foil to Bishop Erkenwald or Father Coenwulf, perhaps?
Lastly, did you name him after the 9th Century bishop of Worcester, or the 8th Century King of Kent?

Thank you for writing such engaging books.
Andrew Rienstra

A

I can’t remember now where I found the name . . . I cpy down names as I find them and he was on the list, but how he got there I have no idea. So you want him promoted? I’ll do my best!

 


Q

Bernard -

Just a quick note of thanks.   Discovered the Saxon series several weeks ago and am devouring the novels. Am halfway through The Lords of the North.  Was pleased to see Robert Harris' novels among your collection of club books.  I love historic fiction and, among my favorites to date, are Michael Dobbs' Churchill series. Have you read them?  I really admire Dobbs' versatility.   Best of luck to you and I do hope to meet you one day to thank you in person.

Take care,

Manus.

A

I love his books, all of them!


Q

Hi there,
I wanted to Thank you, for giving me back reading... yes I know that sounds odd lol but, till the sharpe tv show came out, I was a very hit and miss reader, when that show came up and I later saw a book of it, it got me into your writings.... the Arthur series was great, but... You really hit the mark with me when it came to your saxon series. I am a Wulfrunian (a native of Wolverhampton) and have always had a fascination with my local history, so when I got reading that series and all about mercia, I was hooked, I have been researching all my area's history from Alfred downwards, obviously with a big focus on the Aethelflaed areas,
So when Pagan Lord came out I was wondering, will he mention the battle?? and I was so glad when you did include it!! and you did a really good job on it, especially, where you described wonderfully, the darkness about its actual whereabouts!! (I actually have a theory about that lol)

So I wanted, as a Wulfrunian, to say thank you... for including my area (the battle is/was in the area where I sit) One question tho... in your research... did you manage to find out anything more about this King Eowils? apart from him being a joint king of Northumberland with Halfdan? I have been trying and coming up with blanks, apart from a few suggestions that he was a beserker

anyway, I'll stop here, but as today is also your birthday (I saw it on facebook, I'm wulfrun_andy there ) Have a wonderful birthday!! and please, continue with Uhtred!! and when he dies, perhaps into Mercia!!

All the best,

Andy

A

I did find some interesting facts, but sadly the notebook is a thousand miles away so it’ll have to stay a mystery for the moment, sorry.


Q

Dear Mr Cornwell,
I adore historical fiction, especially yours! I like to write myself, and I have written a short story set during the reign of Alfred the Great in which I have included Uhtred as a character, one of my protagonist's good mates. I hope you don't mind! I have also done the same with Sharpe, just as Simon Scarrow presumably did in his novel The Fields of Death, where he briefly mentioned a tall, rifle-carrying Greenjacket Major named Richard. With that in mind, I was wondering: if you ever wrote a cameo for another author's creation, which would it be?
Also, after introducing my father and a number of friends to Azincourt I have been pestered with speculation about a potential film adaptation of it? I absolutely loved Sean Bean's Sharpe and I've been praying for another of your stories to be brought to life on screen, I was hoping there might be a kernel of truth to the rumours?
Thor guide you,
Gustaf Haynes

A

Oh, probably Hornblower!  But whether I’ll do it? Don’t know.

There's the occasional talk of film, but I honestly don't pay too much attention to it.  Maybe it'll happen, but I won't hold my breath!


Q

I have just concluded The Pagan Lord. When is the next one due out, please, and do you have a name for it, so that I can pre-order on Amazon?
Many thanks in advance.
John Searancke

 

Very much enjoy your books...please due you have a month when the next Saxon Story will be available in England?
Thanks
Tony

 

 

Loving the Saxon Tales series....The Pagan Lord.. was "edge of seat" stuff for certain!
When's the eagerly awaited next installment due?....and are the rumours true that Uhtred The Younger slips through a portal in the space-time continuum and plays upfront for Newcastle United?
Phil W

 

 

I just finished reading the Pagen Lord, and loved it. Am I going to have to wait two more years to read the next installment.  I truly enjoy your writing.  I just get frustrated waiting for the next book from you and many other authors I follow..
Thank you for this series..
Karry Dohlen

A

We do have a title - The Empty Throne.  With any luck it will be published in the UK on 23 October 2014.


Q

Enjoyed "The Pagan Lord", now that the series is ending, have you considered continuing the Starbuck Chronicles ? A visit to Fredericksburg, Va., would provide a battlefield tour of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse( 1862-1864)  This July will be the 100th Anniversary of the start of W.W.I.
Phil Beuchert

 

 

So its been 18 years since the last Startbuck book was published, and the little blurb on the books page hasn't been updated in forever..  Will I see a another Startbuck book before I turn 40?  I am now 38 and read the first book  when I was in high school..  Extended vacation indeed!!!!!!!
Matthew

 

 

Before I start, I have to say, I have 90%of your books, and love the Saxon stories, and hope they continue for many more books.My question is, will you be doing a continuation of the Starbuck chronicles, I've just read those books again, and would like to know and read, what happens to starbuck, if he lives to see the end of the war, and if so, what becomes of him, many thanks, and keep up the good work                                                                                                               Kev Sharpe

A

If only there were more hours in a day....


Q

I have enjoyed reading and re-reading all the Sharpe books.  I know they are not written in chronological order, and given that it is impressive how consistent they are.  But one inconsistency niggles - Sharpe meets Daddy Hill in Havoc, but in Eagle he meets him again, FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!  I have often wondered how many other inconsistencies I have missed?
Alastair Harris

A

Oh quite a few, I'm sure!  In one book I say that Sharpe and Hakeswill were together in the breach at Gawilghur and I knew that perfectly well when I wrote Sharpe's Fortress, but the story simply wouldn't work if they were, so I ignored the earlier book reference and wrote what, to me, was the better story. I suspect this is slightly frustrating for some readers, and it can be very frustrating for me, but there it is. Alas, if only I had my own reference guide, but the Sharpe books emerge from a mind as disordered as my office . . . .


Q

Thoroughly enjoy your books, but have never read the Sharpe series. Wondering if it's possible to buy the Shape series as a set or do I have to buy them one by one?
Bruce Kahanyshyn

A

It may be possible to buy the series as a set some day - but that's not likely to happen until the series is complete and it's not finished yet!