Your Questions

Dear Mr Cornwell

Forgive me if I sound like a starstruck fan, but I love your books and the Uhtred Series is by far my favourite. I have just finished reading the books up to date for the second time and the still fascinate me.

I feel I can really relate to Uhtred, being born and bred in Northumberland and now living in Devon I get a sense of where the character is coming from being away from his home and living among strange people who don't understand him.
As a child I used to visit Bamburg Castle, Seahouses and Holy Island (Lindisfarne) every summer with my family and your description of it in your novels is exactly how I remember it.

However, I do have 1 very negative piece of criticism. I don't mean to sound rude or disrespectful can you please explain it to me how in many of your novel series you characters undergo immense  personality changes?
Reading The Last Kingdom and its sequel I felt that you had caught the northern spirit perfectly, Uhtred is a care free, arrogant and ruthless killer. However as your series of books develop Uhtred seems to become more gentle and kind and soppy I fully understand many things can alter a person's behaviour such as environment, age and the people around them but it is almost as if you are writing about a complete different character. I feel this is the same pattern in many of your books such as the Warlord Novels, Sharpe and Azincourt these are supposed to be ruthless warriors living in desperate and ruthless times.

Although there seems to be 1 exception to this pattern, Thomas of Hookton Novels  the main character begins unlike the others as gentle and naive but by the 1356 Novel he is merciless and cruel but I do accept that torture and war could have caused this.

I am sorry if I seemed to have ranted but              I am curious as to why all your characters behaviour and attitudes all seem to become the opposite of what they started out as?

Kind Regards

Kurt Beck

The Countess of Malbuisson in 1356
What a delightful character she is.  She is a wonderfully refreshing 3D personality and she leaps off the page, Surely she is real?

I would love to see her in a prequel, in her heyday.  There would surely be a long list of suitors beating a path to her door.

Thanks for her, Bernard, and all your other amazing characters.

Oliver Randle

Mr. Cornwell,
I love your books, as do all that send you these notes. The Arthur Chronicles hold a special place for me. I've read just about every series there is on Arthur. Your's is epic. Even when you know a story has to end with the deaths of so many characters you have come to love, you still brought out an amazing amount of emotion in me. I've read that Dumas' son walked in on him weeping and he told his son it was because he had just killed Porthos. I don't know if this story is true, but I like to believe it. I wanted to ask you how it felt to you when you wrote the end of the story? The image of Derfel setting food out for the spirits after being there for so many deaths is haunting. Thank you for giving us your stories.

Derek Quarles

Good Morning Mr. Cornwell,

I just have to say that all of the research that you have done is simply AMAZING!
I am in the process of writing a series and a few of the gentlemen that I am writing about are in some military position during the Napoleon War, also, one gentlemen is a part of the Portuguese Military.  Are there any books that you could recommend that would help me figure out what the rankings are and what the events are by date?  Any advice would be so helpful!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Best,
Lisa

I like your books, and have read several, but I am tired of every book containing priests that are ugly villians. Do you have something against Catholics, or have you just gotten predictable with your characters?
Dennis Jankowski

Wow.
I have been a fan through, first, the Warlord Chronicles, then the exploits of Thomas of Hookton...can't wait to read the new one. I have been a devout follower of Uhtred's tale, found myself slightly disappointed at being abandoned by Starbuck mid-tale but still wait hopefully, and still hold Agincourt amongst my favorites.
I have, just this morning, completed reading through all of the Sharpe series, in chronological order, and must say I will miss him, and Mr Harper, dearly. (When you had Sharpe commanding a grave to be dug at Waterloo, a large one, I nearly cursed you for I thought sure you had done in the loyal Irishman.)
Thank-you for those tales. As usual you have piqued my interest in several pieces of history that I knew of, but had no intimate view into previously.
The one piece I had hoped for, beyond sadness at Hogan's demise, was reconciliation between Sharpe and Sweet William. Why did you choose to thus alienate the two when Sharpe had so many other women from which to choose?
(Ok, perhaps I also wanted to see Jane's demise but that smacks a bit too  much of chivalrousness.) By why the falling out? Was it just to provide Sharpe with convenient retirement? (Why not Parisian dalliance with La Marquesa? )
Curtis Fletcher

When will the next book after Death Of Kings be out?!!! I've re read the series about 6 times keeping it fresh in my mind, I can't get enough.

Jamyn Briggs

 

Dear Mr. Cornwell,
I'm a fan of your books, especially the Uhtred Saga I think is great. The last band of the year 2012 was the dying king, still more volumes coming out of the saga, and if so, when will it be?
Greetings from Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
Ralf Schattschneider

Dear Mr. Cornwell,
I'm a huge fan.  Started with Sharpe (read all those multiple times), read Starbuck (loved those equally), read 3-Hookton novels, and last couple of years have been enjoying Uhtred's adventures.  Perhaps this is a silly question, but will there be another?  If, the answer is "yes" ... when do you hope to publish it?
My wife writes and publishes.  So I do understand that all the research followed by the writing and editing takes time.  Much much more time than it takes us readers to devour your work.
Also, I was very pleasantly surprised to see 1356 (next in Hookton series) published recently.  Just bought it today and added it to my kindle!
Huge fan, please keep on doing what you do, and I'll do my part.  I'll buy them (kindle versions now, mostly) and enjoy them like all the others before them.
Many thanks and all the best!
Brad Buehler

Your Thomas of Hookton books are superb.  Just wanted to query a point on page 73 in 1356 where you state that ""The Kingdom of Navarre, on the edge of Normandy".  Is that correct as I thought Navarre was near Spain.  Did they have lands near Normandy too?  I am halfway through 1356 and hope you will continue writing about Thomas.  I have nearly all your books and know that I will always get great pleasure from them.  Please carry on writing as you are a first class author.
Mrs Marilyn Jennings

Dear Bernard,
Just finished book six of The Warrior Chronicles. I read the portuguese (Latin America) version of the book. I was amazed by your work. Did you check the brazilian front cover of The Warrior Chronicles? If not, google Crônicas Saxônicas (Bernard Cor...). Is book 7 finished?
Cheers,
Rodrigo

I have always loved history but up until recently it would have been concentrated on the WW2 probably because my father fought in it. A few years ago my wife bought me the first book in The Warrior Chronicles and I just loved it. I found it gave a real interest and knowledge of the period wrapped up in a great story. Of course I have now bought and read the rest of the series along with most of the others.  Thank you so much for them all. Knowing I was getting 1356 as a present I reread the complete Grail Quest series of books before reading it and was as thrilled as the first time I read them which lead me to reread The Warrior Chronicles series (just finished Death of Kings) and was wondering when the next book was to be published. I searched the internet for some article which might give a hint but could not find any so if it is not too cheeky when do you hope to publish the next one. Thanks once again.

Regards

Edwin

Enjoy your books; Saxon Tales, Grail Quest, Stonehenge, Angincourt
When is the next Saxon Tales coming out?  I just got thru reading Death of Kings.
I really enjoy the books BUT it is soooo long between books.

Laura Scott

 

hi I"m dying waiting for the next book to the saxon stories I have got all 6 of them and have read all of them around 5 times each, please could you let me know when the next one is coming out, i think you have done a great job writing them and i enjoy reading them again and again
Kara