Your Questions

Q

Mr Cornwell,

I very much enjoy reading all the series and look forward to whatever you produce next.  I am a retired Marine Corps Officer, now serving as an Episcopal Priest and find your depiction of the give and take between the ranks and the leadership to be very accurate.  I have also enjoyed reading the novels of Patrick Obrien and wonder if at some point you will venture more deeply into writing about the British Navy?  I hope sometime you will come to visit Dallas Texas, but in case you don't, what I usually ask authors when I have the opportunity to meet them at book signings is: "Who do you like to read?"  I have come away with some interesting answers.  Do you have an author you'd like to share?

Blessings,

Fr. JD Brown
Rector,
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
Garland, Texas 75043

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

I doubt I'll ever write another naval story - they're incredibly difficult because you can't shift characters out of each other's way - they're all stuck on board a ship. Writing Sharpe's Trafalgar hugely increased my respect for CS Forester and Patrick O'Brian.

 

What books do I read? A list that could go on forever! I have always been particularly fond of the books by George MacDonald Fraser . I read a vast amount of history. I like good mysteries and detective novels - Ian Rankin, John Sandford, PD James, Dennis Lehane.  I enjoy Stuart MacBride's books.

Q

HI Bernard
I have just finished The Pagan Lord and as with the other six books in the series I found it very difficult to put down and very entertaining , I wonder if you could tell me if and when the next book in the series is due to be published , I am just starting the Arthur books and will then move to the Grail quest so I have plenty of good reading to keep me busy
Thank You
Dave Buck

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

I have started the next book of Uhtred's story so with any luck we may have it ready for publication in September 2014.

Q

Hi, the first of your books I read was Sword Song and was so annoyed it had to end! I have now read the rest of the series (in order this time) and have just finished The Pagan Lord.  I was wondering/hoping the will be more in this series and if there is are we able to know a rough date of when its due.  I might have to start on the warlord chronicles or the Grail series while I wait.
Thanks for the great books.
Brad Gould

 

Read all your books loved them all,is there a follow up to the pagan lord,hopefully there will be,thank you for the pleasure you have provided over the years,

your's faithfully

Brian.

When are you going to publish the sequel to The Pagan Lord?  I have downloaded all the stories in the series and am looking forward to continuing Uhtred story.
I have also downloaded all the Sharp and Starbucks series and will probably go onto the Warlord books when Uhtred lays down his sword!
Margaret Llewelyn

 

Enjoy your books immensely. I have just finished The Pagan Lord can't get enough. When is the next book of Uhtred coming. I know I'm asking a lot as it takes a while to write a book
Simon Galpern

 

You done it once again my other half brought the latest installment to the Uhtred tale and I could not put it down. Thrilling from beginning to end. Disappointed when I came to the end left me just wanting more. Which is why I must ask will there be more from this fascinating period of England's history? Wishing you all the best. Alastair.

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

There will be more to Uhtred's story!  It is the book I am writing now.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell,
I have read all the Sharpe and Starbuck books, and i was just wondering if a Sharpe book will come after Sharpe's Devil. I hate to see the end of Sharpe and reading the ones that fill in between the old ones isn't quite the same. So will there be a new Sharpe book after Chile?
Jay Granade

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

I don't think there will be any more post 1815 books for Sharpe.

Q

Hi Bernard -

thanks for the many wonderful hours I've enjoyed wallowing in your creations. In particular Sharpe (and I think Thomas of Hookton was slightly turning into Sharpe in 1356). Would you believe I've read every Sharpe at least 4 times? Sounds obsessive but I am a very fast reader.
While you say you don't want to be sent ideas for Sharpe books - I am a lawyer myself and believe my 'request' is not suggesting an idea as it simply asks you to fill in some gaps already created by your own imagination, and therefore without doubt your own intellecual property no matter how I phrase it.
It is this - I would love you to do a book that covers Sharpe's childhood, all the way up to and including his first battle in Flanders. There's so much detail you've already hinted at throughout the series - I think it would be a massively interesting story.
By the way, I have two books commercially published which according to your message above means you will buy them and read them joyfully. Looking forward to your feedback.

Thanks again.

Adrian Deans

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

I have no plans for Flanders at the moment - having taken Sharpe backwards in time once I'm not inclined to do it again, but who knows? Maybe as a short story?  One day?

Q

I am truly enjoying your books.  Growing up our family seemed to focus on our Cherokee, Irish, Scott and Norman French heritage, but reading your books and those of C.S. Forester I have become more interested in our English heritage and history.  Our family is truly American and quite the dupes mixture.   Thank you for sparking that interest in England past!  Any thought of writing on the Norman Conquest?
John T. Roberts

Submitted December 26, 2013

A

I have given the Norman Conquest some thought, but it is not likely to happen any time soon.

Q

I really enjoyed reading "Agincourt" and "1356". Have you given any thought to writing a book about the Battle of Towton ?  I have heard  it was the biggest battle fought in English soil.
I can't wait for "The Pagan Lord". Why is there a lag between the U.K. release date and the U.S. ?
Thanks for bringing history to life.
Keep them coming,
Larry Raines

Submitted December 19, 2013

A

It has occurred to me, yes, but whether I will? I just don't know. It was a ghastly battle, one of the real horrors, and it's very tempting. One day, maybe?

 

The publishing dates are set by the publishers.

Q

After conquering all of Europe in Napoleon: Total War, my favourite unit above all is the Old Guard. For some reason, seeing those bearskin helmets, moustachioed faces, and white cross-belts marching with determination at the enemy evokes history itself. First, I'm wondering which regiment(s) is/are your favourite? Secondly, if any of those real Napoleonic soldiers (at varied levels of command) could glimpse the future, what would they reckon to an interactive game based on the war of which they're a part?! Would they be sad, amazed, confused, or disinterested? What do you think?
Robert Douglas

Submitted December 19, 2013

A

Oh, I have two favourites. The Rifles (95th) obviously, and the 88th, the Connaught Rangers, an Irish regiment of dubious discipline (except in battle) and ferocious achievement. I don’t think Wellington had in mind the 88th when he said ‘I don’t know what they do to the enemy, but they terrify me,’ but he might well have done!  If I had to choose just one regiment to defend me then it’s a toss-up between the US Marine Corps and the 88th. I think the 88th!

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell,

I would like to start by thanking you for the wonderful times I have had reading your books. I am fourteen years old and an enthusiastic amateur historian and have a passion for historical novels. Your Sharpe books have opened my eyes to various aspects of not only conflicts in the early 19th century but also the system of classes and prejudice at that time.

I am sorry to say that I missed a chance to meet you last summer at Bicester book shop as I, like Sharpe, was unfortunately was away doing my duty, at the annual Royal Marines Cadet camp. However during the camp I was reading Sharpe's Triumph, I must thank you again for writing this book because it helped me to build a (very) rough bridge with one of the scariest Colour Sergeants in the company, a who it turns out is a big Sharpe fan!

I have just finished Sharpe's Company at the time of writing and am eager for more. However, what I have often wondered about is Sharpe's past. You frequently mention Flanders where Sharpe saw his first action as a young private and often regrets the fact that he lost his ramrod. I can relate to this as I have made many a mistake during my basic training and my first time in a rifle troop at cadets, but I have learnt from them and make sure I do not do them again, just as Sharpe always checks his ramrod is not in the barrel when he fires!

Also, you mention that Sharpe had to join the Army because of a murder he committed and was recruited by the famous Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, who is currently running away from Badajoz after murdering Captain Knowles (why did Knowles have to die!)

In short, what are the secrets of Sharpe's past? Who did he murder and why? I have to admit that I am slightly scared of the outcome as I know Sharpe now as a slightly unorthodox but very dutiful officer and it would be unnerving to find out he had once slit someone's throat just for their purse, or maybe that would make sense?

Thank you again,

Marine Cadet Conrad Whitcroft White,

Nothamptonshire

Submitted December 19, 2013

A

He murdered an inn-keeper in Yorkshire who’d attempted to rape a serving-girl – Sharpe worked at the inn. I can’t remember if I’ve ever told the story, though I think there’s a glancing reference to it in one of the books.

Best of luck to you!

Q

As I assume you have now finished your history of the battle of Waterloo. I should like to ask is non fiction harder to write than fiction?
Andy Houghton

Submitted December 19, 2013

A

In some ways it’s a lot easier, simply because you don’t have a plot to devise and that is 90% of the work on a novel. So the book’s framework is ready-made (though it did take some shaping, but not nearly as much as a fictional plot). On the other hand there is a duty of accuracy, and though I thought I knew the battle and the sources well I discovered that it took an immense amount of research that was hugely time consuming – you can’t simply ‘make things up’ as you can in fiction.  I enjoyed writing it (and am pleased with the result), but in some ways it’s a relief to be back with fiction!