Your Questions

Q

I am a great fan of your work and look forward to more. In reading the King Alfred books, there is something said in the historical notes that I found puzzling. You stated that Alfred was the only King of England to be called The Great. Was not Cnut The Great, King of England in 1016? Thank you and best regards, Elliott Weiss Durham, CT, Wells, ME

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

I think Cnut is sometimes called 'the great'. It's an uncertain title, meaning that there's no committee to grant it, and I guess its acceptance depends on usage. I suppose some people think Cnut was 'the Great' and some people don't! You makes your choice!

Q

I've just finished re-reading all of your "Sharpe's" books in chronological order, and at the end of "Waterloo" I read in your historical note that the battlefield is apt to mislead one into thinking that it was a French victory. I would like to point out that the same thing has been done here in Canada at the Plains of Abraham battlefield in Quebec, with a huge monument to the losing general, Montcalm, and only a small statue of General James Wolfe. Many of the french tour guides actually claim that it WAS in fact a French victory, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. That, of course, being the fact that Quebec is part of Canada, not the other way around. Maybe it's a French thing?

I also can't resist pointing out one small mistake you made in "Sharpe's Devil". You say that Sharpe, being on the Espirito Santo is appalled at seeing "his first sea battle", despite his having been at Trafalgar many years before. Oh well. We all make mistakes. Love your books, and looking forward to acquiring many more of them.

Paul Waters

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

Is it a French thing? Perhaps - the battle of Fuentes d'Onoro is recorded on the Arc de Triomphe as a 'victory', which would have come as something of a surprise to the Duke of Wellington. I suppose the Montcalm statue is compensation? And he was a great man, so he deserves his memorial, but I take your point. The rewriting of battles is an old and honoured practice - there was an American general badly beaten on the Canadian border in the War of 1812 and his despatch was rejected with the orders to 'write it as a victory' - it was better for morale. And Beresford was so dispirited after Albuhera that his despatch was rejected by Wellington who wanted it made to look more like a triumph.

Of course, Sharpe's Devil was written 8 years before I wrote Sharpe's Trafalgar.....

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell Thank you very much for the years of pleasure your writing has given me.I have sadly just finished 'The Fort'(I say sadly as my otherwise tedious rail commutes flew by whilst reading it!)I had the pleasure of seeing you at Chelmsford theatre a couple of years ago where you kindly answered my question about the English Civil War, in that you had researched it but had no plans to write about it.Is this still the same? I am an avid fan of the period and most fiction about it(with a couple of exceptions)is frankly terrible and is crying out for the Cornwell treatment! As a total aside, I am visiting family in the Toronto area in the Autumn and wondered if you thought any locations of the British/American War of 1812-14 are worth a visit? Thank you.

Martin Simpson

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

It's still on a back burner....

I'm afraid I don't know the terrain and have never visited any of the sites, but I'm sure there are websites that offer some guidance? Or look at Pierre Berton's great books on the war - maybe there are clues there? Sorry.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I have a question to you because you wrote about that time and place: I would be interested how the London Harbour or London Port (what is right?) might have looked in the times of the viking invasions. I hope that you maybe have some links for me concerning that topic. I´m interested in it because I´m writing a kind of tale and I invented a town near a river. I try to make some drawings of it at the moment and yes - I think my harbour is too small. Thank you very much and a lots of greetings, Paul Mittelsdorf from Germany

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

I'm not sure I know of any links, but there are a number of good books on the history of London that might help, but it's really pretty easy! The Thames was much wider back then, and of course it was tidal, so the north bank was heavily covered with timber wharves allowing ships to tie up - the wharves were first made by the Romans, and the existence of the Roman bridge meant they were thicker downriver of the bridge. It's not a 'harbour' as such, just a row of wharves on the muddy banks of a tidal river!

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell, I read and enjoyed the Fort; very good it was. At the end you commented on the relative veracity of the reputations of Lovell, Saltonstall and Revere. You finally came to the conclusion that perhaps only Revere really would have had the fire in his belly to carry the day, and the Fort. You said that Peleg Wadsworth might not have spoken to his grandson, Longfellow on the subject of Revere, and so Longfellow's poem selected Revere for canonisation without reference to what Wadsworth thought. But I wonder if Wadsworth didn't agree with you, thinking Revere might have been the better commander, and Longfellow was operating to reverse the balance on whom he might have seen as an unfairly excoriated man. Also we are not required to agree with grandfathers. My own grandfather (who had worked in the same bank as him) described Michael Collins as "a young fool who went off to die for Ireland" whereas I think the world of him. Regards Jonathan Mills

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

I'm not sure it was my 'conclusion', merely a somewhat capricious suggestion! And I suspect Wadsworth's opinion of Revere was virtually unprintable, and I can find no evidence that his opinion of Revere was ever anything except disapproving. My own suspicion is that Longfellow knew nothing of his grandfather's dealings with Revere, and if he had known then he would never have written the poem - at least not about Revere. His own account suggests that he was fairly ignorant of Revere's doings until a friend showed him the silversmith's grave, and I suspect as well that he was entranced by the name which is, indeed, splendid! But Peleg Wadsworth, I'm sure, regarded Revere with something close to contempt.

Q

Hi Bernard, I absolutely loved Azincourt and hope that the movie does come through and is actually good, because the battle and the buildup are masterfully crafted. What really fascinated me about the book is its, by your standards, very non-cynical portrayal of Henry V, especially given the number of historians who attribute greed and ego to his actions. I noticed that this portrayal of Henry means that the story tallies neatly with the Bard's rendition, so is it a case of you deferring to the language's greatest author, or do you think Harry was simply that nice a bloke? I suppose on the law of averages their needs to be some pleasant monarchs.. (I also considered that the story's entirely from Nick's point of view, so his view of the politics is undoubtedly a fairly simple one..)

Jared Hansen

Submitted August 2, 2011

A

Hmmmm - I'm not sure Henry was a 'nice bloke' at all, though he was certainly the greatest general of his age. I rather dislike him, mainly because of his fanatical attachment to his religion which caused him to acts of supreme cruelty (in dealing with the lollards who were, by any measure, harmless and even admirable). Henry comes into his own on the battlefield and he was an inspirational leader, fortified, of course, by his belief that God was on his side!

Q

Why did you switch narrators from Tom Sellwood? He is Uhtred!

Rg Castle

Submitted July 29, 2011

A

Not my doing! You'll have to ask the publisher.

Q

Bonjour, J'attends avec impatience la traduction française de "the burning land", quand ce livre sera-t-il distribué en France. Meilleures salutations. Laurent Joly

Hello sir! I'm french, and I read with great interest the saxon stories, in french (I've got difficulty to read English). I'd like to know if a french version of "The burning land" exists? If no, do you know if it's planned? In any case, thanks for your books!! And sorry for my english! Good bye. Julien Quintana

Submitted July 29, 2011

A

I'm afraid the French publisher does not have a schedule for the release of The Burning Land in French translation.

Q

Have you ever been asked permission to have the Saxon Stories or the Arthur books into Films or Tv shows? Thanks Oli

Hi Bernard, I'm a big fan and I have read all of your books and was just wondering if anyone has approached you to film a tv series/film for Uhtred's adventures? I think it would be alot better plot than most of the films out of that genre today. Eagerly awaiting The Death of Kings. Many thanks, Yousef Ayoub

Submitted July 29, 2011

A

There's been some talk of it, but I don't pay too much attention to it.

Q

I am writing a vampire/legends novel with which I want to incorporate a CD of songs that have inspired me whilst I have been writing and some of these songs are "relevant" (lyric-wise/emotionally) to the story. This CD can be played at designated points throughout the novel. What do you think of this idea?

Alyson

Submitted July 27, 2011

A

I think it's fine if you can make it work - I think John Connolly did something similar with one of his books. It's an idea that might work much better with an e-book?