Your Questions

Dear Mr Cornwell, I have read your Sharpe series more times than I can remember, as well as starting on your other, and I was wondering, what with all the dipping in and out of order with the Sharpe series, if you had started with Sharpe's Tiger, and worked through in sequence, would the series have turned out much different, and how so? Very hypothetical question I know, but one which I'm greatly interested in! Thank you Chris G

Hello Bernard, I have read a few of your books in the past and enjoyed them very much. I am an Australian Kindle owner. Bought my first one in March and now have the latest Kindle 3. What i am striking a lot is that when trying to buy a book via Amazon like yours it comes up "This Title is Not Available to customers from Australia". It is a pain because generally the ebook is not available in Australia and, if it was, it would not be Kindle compatible. Is there any hope that your Kindle books will become an "International" versions? Kind regards, John Mitchell

In your last book of the Sharpe series, Sharpe's Devil, a young British Lieutenant asks Sharpe if he remembers his father, Captain Roland Hardacre. Captain Hardacre was with Sharpe at the same time in Salamanca and later died at San Sebastian. It was not clear if Sharpe was at San Sebastian or somewhere else at the time. My wife and I are just back from Pamplona where we ran with the bulls then spent a week in San Sebastian. It is the jewel of the Bahia di La Concha and Parte Vieja was a great spot to stay. It is hard to believe the city was razed and only a few houses, two they say, were left standing in 1813. Apparently Sharpe was busy at the Vitoria Campaign and the Invasion of France in 1813.....?
Henry Restarick

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Thank you for your pithy advice on writing. If you have the time, perhaps you can guide me in a couple areas. I was wondering if you map out or chart the plot of a book before writing it, or do you just jump right in and see where the plot takes you. Also, I'm curious as to how you generate plot ideas. Do you do a little research on something you find interesting first and get plot ideas from the research, or do you ask an intriguing "What if" question first and see what research might support it? Or something else? Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Josh

Hello My name is Tim, I´m from Germany and 16 years old, so my English isn´t perfect, but I´ll try my best. I always enjoyed reading your books, especially the Warlord Chronicles and the Saxon Stories. When I read through your website, some questions came to my mind. The parallels in the two series are sometimes very obvious, the heathen is fighting for the christians to get the heathens out of britannia, Derfel as well as Uhtred have important relationships to their enemies. And they both have a Woman, Derfel has Seren, the star, and Uhtred has Aethelfaed, the woman of gold. In my opinion they also seem to have very similar characters, but the point is, I read on your website, you had the most fun at writing at the Warlord Chronicles, but of course after the last book you couldn´t continue writing the series. So I´m asking myself, well right now I´m asking you, did you start writing the Saxon Stories because you wanted to write something like the warlord books again? Well i love both series, and I´m looking forward to your new books, and to me having enough cash to buy your old. greetings from Germany, Tim

Sorry.. my English is very bad. Ähm.. wenn kam the new Roman from Uhtred and Alfred, to Germany?! Sorry for my English. I have learn ind the School only Russian. André Pyko

Dear Bernard: I'm a huge fan of your work,and sat down last night to start "The Burning Land" As usual it grabbed me right from the start. However I have a question. On page 7 we are introduced to one Father Willibald, could it be an inside tribute to the great book and Norse saga "The Long Ships" by Frans G Bengtsson? that book is one of my favorite Historical Novels of all time, and Father Willibald was a large part of the story. Best Regards Earl Douglas North Vancouver B.C. Canada

Bernard, like so many others, my interest in the American Civil War has been sparked by the Starbuck Chronicles. Have you ever considered writing a novel based on a pre-whiteman, North American Indian character?

Billy Cairns

Mr. Cornwell, What type of helmet were you envisioning Arthur wearing? Were you envisioning the Sutton Hoo type helmet that is on the cover of The Winter King? Were you envisioning a Spangenhelm type? I've just purchased a copy of Excalibur and now have the entire trilogy and am starting to read through it for the first time in 18 years.
Josh

I have read your books since childhood, and I struggle to read any other type of book! I would like to know when writing Sharpe, do you have to consciously think what Sharpe’s personality is like? Do you feel as you yourself have aged, has Sharpe changed too throughout the series? And my final silly question! Have you truly grasped how fantastically phenomenal your books are and the affect they had had on a person such as myself? Glynn McCarthy