Your Questions

Hello there, trust you're well and about to launch another tome of excellent storytelling at us. I am close to finishing the third book of your Arthur series (The Winter King etc) having read the first two and this third back-to-back. Am enjoying the tale immensely and think you've managed to inhabit the character of Derfel sublimely well. What I'm actually interested to know is where did you get the idea for the Three Wounds that Nimue must experience before she becomes fully part of the Druidic tradition or open to the mysteries, however you want to put it? Is this a fictional device or is there some loose fact based on Druidic or other religious 'lore?' All of the characters in this series are expertly crafted I think and I'm only sorry to be reaching the end of the third book. Many thanks for giving me such huge enjoyment of their presence in my imagination. Kind regards Elizabeth S Mullen

Hi Bernard, Read every Sharpe book and really enjoyed them. I would like to ask you , as well as researching the battles that were fought that are mentioned in your Sharpe books have you ever visited any of the battle sites from the the wars? Regards, D slotta.

Mr Cornwell, Until a few months ago, I had read I believe all of your books except for the Sharpe series. I guess I kept putting them off because I knew very little about the Peninsular War. I knew I would like them any way and finally I got around to tackling the series chronologically, and I'm up to Waterloo. First off, I believe my favorite parts of any Sharpe books are his meetings with Wellington. I really enjoy the uneasy admiration between the two. Sometimes you feel Wellington wants to hate Sharpe and other times he wants to love him, and he is incapable of either. Thanks to your books, I am now going to buy a biography on the man who to me was just the guy who won Waterloo and has a beef dish named after him. One question. What do you have against ensigns? Throughout the Sharpe series they seem to have a life-expectancy along the lines of members of a Forlorn Hope.

Mike Higgins

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Have you written a story set in Ethiopia, where two soldiers one British and one American, fix armoured cars and fight for the Ethiopian King? The story takes place from 1920-1940?

Michael Burgess

I love all your books and History However why is Tamworrth not mentioned in your Saxon books? It was formally the Capitol of Mercia making Tamworth the Capitol of England - Lichfield gets a mention but was of no import in those days - making your books historically incorrect I would love to have your views on this.

Clive Chapman

Hi Bernard, as a huge Sharpe fan (I've read them all twice) I'm sorely aggrieved by the fact that there aren't any more. Apologies if this has already been asked and answered before, but have you considered doing a Sharpe prequel? Starting from the orphanage and taking him up to his first battle (or even India)? By the way, considering you started with Eagle, that was masterful storytelling the way you filled in the backstory with the subsequent prequels. Very impressive indeed, and thanks for all the good work. Adrian Deans

Hi Bernard First I thought I would comment by telling you what an absolute pleasure it was reading the Starbuck chronicles. I have always been into my history and from a very young age started watching Sharpe on tv. For that reason I chose not to pursue the Sharpe books as I felt having already seen Sean Bean playing Sharpe it would be difficult to build up my own image. For this reason I chose to read the Starbuck chronicles instead and I can honestly say I had read all 4 of them within a couple of weeks and was disappointed when they finished. My brother on hearing me drone on about how good the books were bought me Sharpe's Escape for Christmas. He pointed out that this specific Sharpe adventure was never on the tv and thought it would be worth getting me as a present. I was not disappointed when I started reading it and like with the Starbuck chronicles I cannot put the book down. Anyway I am emailing you just for a bit of advice/a few questions which I hope you might be able to answer for me. I am currently in the process of trying to write my own novel and obviously I find it hard and frustrating to find the time to actually sit down and get some typing done as I am trying to balance it with full time work and spending time with my girlfriend. There are some times when I just feel like giving up as it feels like I will never get it finished. How long did it take for you to complete your first novel and how many drafts did it take before you sent it off? My second question might sound a bit strange and without going into to much detail but the story I am attempting to write is set at the backdrop of the Anglo-Dutch war of 1665 but is also based around the Caribbean islands. I am trying to do as much research as I can but to make life easier on myself (mainly due to rarely having the time to do in depth research) I have invented a made up English Colony/island in the Caribbean islands and will use that as a key component of the story. Do you think this is a good/acceptable technique to use for Historical fiction or would it perhaps spoil my story or be seen as stupid by any publication companies? Sorry if that last question sounds a bit silly and I apologise for going on with my questions, but I would be delighted if you could get back to me with some advice or answers to my questions. Hope to hear from you soon Yours Sincerely Liam Murphy

Hello - a rather frivolous comment really. I have just bought a bag of seed potatoes at a local garden nursery in North Wales. The variety is called 'Sharpe's Express'. I wonder if they have any connection to your hero? I am hoping that they will yield a good crop and be as down to earth as Richard Sharpe is. Any likelihood of his next adventure coming out in 2012?

Barbara Francis

How can we have your some books with translated Turkish edition in Turkey ? Best regards. Kuruoglu

I'M really a fan of your Sharpe's Novels and have read the Grail Quest to. But Sharpe is my favorite. I'm not quite happy with all of the Sharpe movies cause some of them have nearly nothing to do with your books. But why I write to you is one point I still wonder about: in Sharpe's Sword Sharpe is badly shot in the stomach. What happened to the bullet? In the novel is only said that it was not removed but the wound closed. Was it removed after Sharpe was taken from the Deathroom?

And now another question - I'm just curious. What happened to Jane, Sharpe's wife? I hope that the Seachest full of coins that Sharpe and Harper got from Cochrane in Devil made Sharpe rich again. Thank you for Sharpe and the Novels.

Kerstin Krüll