Hi Bernard
have you ever considered writing about the battle of Flodden?
Ciaran Baxter
I've considered it, but I'm not sure it will happen. Too many other things I've considered more!
Courtesy of a British friend, I finally got my clutches on the Richard Armitage reading of Lords of the North. It's probably too much to hope for, but is there any chance he will record the new Uhtred book when it comes out? For me, Uhtred (and Earl Ragnar) will always speak with his voice.
Edith Munro
Forgive me, but I don't know! I don't listen to the audio version of any of my books and I have no involvement in selecting the performer.
Hello Bernard,
You seem to be knowledgeable about the use of bow and arrow in history.
But at the time Uhtred lived, was the longbow (>100 lbs. warbow) as used in the Hundred Years War already in use?
It seems quite a clumsy weapon to go hunting with; in dense woods I would rather use a more compact bow and no more than 50-60 lbs. (which is what today's bowhunters use, even for bigger game, with broadhead tips).
I remember a slingshot being used to take out soldiers at close range with amazing accuracy, but hardly mention of bow and arrow in the Uhtred novels (only once in the marshes I recall a longbow being used to harass raiders at long range).
Moreover, elaborate harnasses like used during the Hundred Years war certainly were not used in Uhtred's time.
Even today there is debate about the penetration value at longer range of bodkin points against curved armour plating. Against lightly clad horses, yes, the arrows are effective. The weight of the harness in combination with muddy ground made medieval knights on foot inferior against the more agile English archers, who would finish them off at close range.
In Uhtred's time, hunting bows would have been used to harass a shield wall, possibly forcing an opening by taking out warriors with shots in the face or legs.
Or to take out sentries on walls and assassinate or harass during ambushes.
Please regards this as a plea to include more bow and arrow in your Uhtred novels ... or any other upcoming novels for that matter ; )Kindly,
René
The NetherlandsPS: You probably noticed I really like bow and arrow : )
Yes it was in use, but because the long bow was so difficult to master, only a few men used it; probably specialist hunters. The earliest yew long bows discovered in Britain go back to Neolithic times!
And you’d be right, it was clumsy, which is why the long bow was so rare. As far as I can discover bows were rarely used in warfare, probably because the armour available was more than adequate to stop a short bow’s missile.
I have just finished "The Burning Lands" and "Death of Kings". When will another Uhtred of Bebbanburg novel. I love them and with my Kindle, I am able to get them instantly which comes in very handy since I am in the US Military and am often deployed or traveling to remote locations. I heard about you after hearing you speak on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" after "The Burning Lands" was published. After hearing the plot, I began reading the entire series. Thanks for the great stories.
Marcus White
Just finished Death of Kings. Couldn't put it down as with all the previous Uhtred books. Please confirm that the series will continue. Uhtred hasn't recaptured his family home, Bebbanburg, so I am hoping that there will be several novels chronicling Uhtred's exploits on his way home.
More Uhtred? When?
Going to buy 1356 today.
Tim Murdock
Will there be another book based on the warrior chronicles? I have enjoyed reading them and have read them over and over again, I know you must be busy writing over stories but I hope you will please me and surely many other of your fans by writing another book where Uhtred will retake bebbanburg
yours sincerely
Shaun
Uhtred's next book, The Pagan Lord, will hopefully be ready for publication in the UK in September. The US publication date will most likely be next January.
Dear Mr. Cornwell,
Having read and loved the Sharpe series in its entirety, I often found those in which the navy are involved to be among my favourites (Trafalgar in particular). I have lately been wondering whether you have ever considered writing a naval series, perhaps based around the career of Captain Joel Chase or of Cornelius Killick? Or perhaps one set in a different time frame other than the Napoleonic Wars (in order to distance it from both Sharpe and the likes of C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent)?Regards,
Charlotte
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.
Hi Bernard,
Love your books, I've wrote to you before and I'm curious as to if you have seen any of the Viking series on the history channel? It's great but man I wish they would have contacted you and based it on your books, When The Viking Ragnar lands at Lindisfarena I expected him to start oar dancing and little Uhtred to be there waiting, but , not so.can't wait for the next book and what I'm really waiting to hear or read as well as countless others over the years is that your next book will be about Nate Starbuck ! Please just give us ,even if it's a teaser, only one book at least.
Thanks for all you do and the great adventures,
Don Slayton
No, I haven't seen the show, but I hope to!
Hello Mr Cornwell,
I just want to begin with how much I have enjoyed the Sharpe series, and I have read the whole series in the last 2 months upon my kindle (I know, not a proper book) and they are great fun! Although upon finishing the main series, I wondered if you were ever planning to write of Harper's children? I understand he was in some way involved with horse trading/smuggling after the wars and owned a tavern, and so thought his children may be involved in an interesting tale or two in their later years.
Thank you,
Theo McCall
That's not in my plans, but I am glad to know you enjoyed the books (even on your Kindle!).
Bonjour,
Thank you for all of your books - they are wonderful historical gems. I would like to know if there is a potential date for the release of the next "Uthred" novel, and if so in what year might it be published. Congratulations on your achievements!
Regards, G. BoisvertWhat is next for Uhtred and when may we expect his reappearance?
Vern Margetts
I would like to know if there is another book written or in the works after Death of Kings in The Warrior Chronicles/Saxon Stories. Having grown up in Kent I am most interested in this period of UK history.
Thank you
Peter Naylor
I am almost finished with the next book of the Warrior Chronicles, The Pagan Lord'. We hope to see it published in the UK in September.
Just finished reading (and enjoying) The Archer's Tale, and I have a question: during the battle of Crecy, orders are given several times to aim for the horses, not the riders. What's the rationale for that strategy. Even if the horse goes down, in many cases the rider is still able to continue fighting. Thanx!
Dave Gardner
The rationale for that is that horses were far more vulnerable to arrows than armoured men! And if you bring a horse down the rider is very liable to be trapped, injured or trampled. And even if he’s lucky enough to survive unscathed he’s now surrounded by panicking horses and chaos (it happened at Agincourt and at Crecy and at Poitiers). So what’s he to do? Make a lone charge on foot? If he stands up he’s going to be a target, and even if an arrow doesn’t pierce his armour, the strike is enough to throw him back a pace. He’s lost. Best thing he can do is get the hell out of there!
Hi Bernard
just finished the Last Kindgom and Pale Horseman and about to start The Lords of the North. What a boy Uhtred is eh?? Fabulous. Just wondered what really got you fired up about that period of our history was it something you saw one day in a museum or stuff you learnt at school. What would be good to follow this one with? hope you're happy in USA England is poorer for not having you here, we have lost a goodun'. All that fervour about Wessex doesn't make you want to come and settle in Taunton or anything crazy like that?
Best Wishes
Anita
Probably stuff I learned at university where, to my horror, I discovered I would have to take a course in Anglo-Saxon literature. I thought Eng Lit was an easy option, and it wasn’t, but I also discovered a lifelong love of that wonderful early poetry!