Your Questions

Hi Bernard,
I have first a comment and then a question. My comment is that it makes no sense to me that the release date for The Pagan Lord in the UK was September and in the US we have to wait until January. I know you've said that this is a publishing decision but maybe you could pass my comment  on to them.
My question has to do with Uhtred's children. In an earlier book, the prediction was made that Uhtred would have three children, a son to make him proud, a son to break his heart and a daughter who would be the mother of kings. I assumed that the older son who was religious broke his heart and maybe the younger son became a great warrior. The questions from some of your readers though indicate that the older son was involved in the  battles.  How is Uhtred's daughter going to become the mother of kings? I can't see who she would marry.
Anyway, I look forward to reading The Pagan Lord, I just wish I could do it sooner.
Sincerely.
Ann

Good Morning Bernard
My question is one which all impatient readers have - what are you working on at the moment and what can be expect from you in the next year or so?
Sorry that this is a 'yawn' question, but it would be interesting to know.
Best Regards
John Blanning

dear Mr. Cornwell!
I read your books of Uhtred with passion. I really love them and your style to describe things of this age brings them to life . so I would like to ask you if there is a chance to make a movie or series of your great work.
with best regards from Germany
Peter Roller

 

Hi Bernard,

Just like to say your books are superb.  Is there any chance you will be creating a film on either Uhtred or of Thomas of Hookton?  The Sharpe series was an outstanding success.

Best Regards Bernard,
John Hayes

Dear Bernard,

this is really a general question. I am in my final year at University studying History and my dissertation topic is 'The Life and Achievements of Sir John Moore'. I was wondering if any of your books specifically mentioned Moore or at least credited him with either Army reform or the founding of the light infantry/rifle corps? I've read a few of your Sharpe novels but have yet to come across this.
It would be nice to read about Moore in a novel rather than being bogged down with library and academic books.
Thanks in advance, Adam Whitelaw.

 

Hi Bernard,

Noticed in a message from one of your readers a reference to an English officer reconnoitering in the Pyrenees with only a small group of men.  In the fog they stumbled across a strong French force.  Fearing the worst the officer advanced and demanded the French surrender in which he was successful and your response that this was not our hero Major Sharpe.

I think this might well be a reference to the story in Sharpe's Christmas (I think) in which our hero bluffs a larger French force into surrendering.

What do you think?

Best Wishes

Steven

PS I am looking forward to receiving Pagan Lord for Christmas.

Hi Mr Cornwell
I am 13 years old, and have absolutely adored your books since I was 10.You happen to be my favourite author.
I am wondering, will you be including Ælfweard's battle for the throne with Æthelstan,or will that be in a book after the next one?

Thank you for taking your time to read this
Cameron Greig

Dear Mr. Cornwell.

I like countless others have read many of your books. I am particularly enjoying The Warrior Chronicles, and looking forward to the next in the series. Having said that, I dread the end of it although I'm sure you will replace it with something as good if not better. Although I know it was explained in at least one of the books , it is a long time since I read the earlier ones. Could you please explain again the meaning of Uhtred's favourite saying, "Wyrd bid ful āraed"   I am considering having it on a piece of jewellery or even a tattoo. I know it's to do with fate but that's all I can recall.  The closest I could think of was "what goes around comes around", but that is a very lame comparison. Please put me out of my misery.
I know the best critics of your literature are family, friends and publishers, but if you ever want a British beta tester for any of your stories, I'd gladly volunteer.

Yours Sincerely,

Liz Van Der Kris

 

Dear Bernard,
I absolutely love your books through which I get introduced to a lot of European history and go on to read a little more about it online. I have a question on one of my favourite phrases from your Saxon Stories -  "Wyrd bið ful aræd".
I looked up online and for Wyrd, there were two old sayings. One from the poem The Wanderer, "Wyrd bið ful aræd" translated on wiki as "Fate remains wholly inexorable" and Beowulf, "Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel"  translated as "Fate goes ever as she shall". I was wondering if you had any particular reason for picking the first over the second (assuming you read them both).
The reason I ask is that the word "inexorable" seems a little out of place for Uhtred stories. Being a born Brit, you may not observe the difference, but being a non-native English speaker (Indian), I learn words like inexorable from books rather than conversation. And for some reason, I think simpler English suits historical fiction/fantasy better. The most popular critique heard of Tolkien (absence of wordy language) is I think his best trait for his works. If I can be permitted to say it without being labeled a class-ist, the difference between professor-speech and working-class-speech. Latter suits stories on soldiers and farmers better I think. Inexorable is something I'd expect Alfred to say, not Uhtred.
Thanks :)
Rakshit Tirumala

Mr. Cornwell,

Thank you very much for The Saxon Warrior Chronicles! I'm a British Literature teacher, and I teach "The Last Kingdom" to my 11th graders after Beowulf and before Chaucer. It gives them a much-needed taste of contemporary fiction, and it also gives them a feel for the lifestyle they learn about in Beowulf. We love your descriptions of battles in particular (I teach at an all-boys school). You really have a knack for showing the scope of battle as well as the individual terror of the shield wall.

I have a question on your sources for the book: Did you take the martyrdom of Edmund from the Anglo Saxon Primer?

We look at the more, um, canonical, version and compare and contrast points of view. It makes for a wonderful exercise.

Sorry to bother you, but the students love your work, and many go on to read the rest of the series!

Any thoughts about a novel about the Battle of Hastings? It would be much more convenient for my course syllabus. :-)

Best of luck, and thanks so much for your body of work!

Mark Quinn
English Teacher
Salesianum School
Wilmington, DE

I would just like to say thank you. Uhtred is the idea of a soldier that every man finds himself wanting to be. As an american soldier I thank you for giving me such literature to enjoy and pass on to friends u have become some what of a top borrower of my collection to military friends. My question is why release  the pagan lord in England and America different?  I am glad I didn't wait but it's confusing to me, would you please let me.know . Thank you Mr Cornwell for your captivating books
Roy Sundstrom

Mr. Cornwell,

Thanks for all the good books. I really do appreciate them because the history fills in a lot of gaps from what we learn in our lifetime from other sources, especially our school education.
I also appreciate your Reading Club. There are a lot of good reads that are just hard to discover on ones own.
A question, after reading Bryce Courtenay Power of One I've tried to find books on the Boer War which he brought into his story several times. I feel it is not a war that England likes to reflect on just from his descriptions in the book, the same as we in America have pushed aside Viet Nam and Korea, although these actions are coming to light now as the soldiers are aging and we as a country try to respect the people who served.
So, do you know of any good historical or historical fictions concerning the Boer War?
Thanks for Richard Sharpe, Thomas of Hookton, and I look especially forward to Uhtred's family reunion.

Sincerely,
Kevin Jester