Your Questions

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I enjoy your writing very much, but in "Redcoat" p. 83 you write, "...but Caroline, whom Woolard was certain knew the truth, was contemptuous and defiant." It should have been "who," of course, as a subject.There's the same problem in "Sharpe's Honor," p. 62:"The Marques stared at Sharpe, seeing the man whom he believed had insulted his wife..." Here again it's as if you're saying, "Him insulted his wife." It's as if you have trouble differentiating between nominative and accusative, subject and object. In the same book, "Sharpe's Honor," p. 73, you seem to have trouble with a simple object of the preposition: "From you and I , my Lord." Clearly it should be "From you and me, my Lord." As I enjoy your writing very much , and as a pedant, I hope you will take this criticism as constructive and friendly. Sincerely, Newton Bowdan

Hi Bernard I have just read the excerpt of The Burning Land -it whets the appetite wonderfully - can't wait to buy the book in the autumn. Have you decided what will come after The Burning Land ? Regards and many many thanks for giving us such fantastic stories - Bob Warburton

Dear Bernard After the recent murder of two soldiers and a policeman in Northern Ireland has tragically bought it back on the news again. It got me wondering if you had ever thought of writing a biography of your time over there. Your job as a TV producer must have bought you in contact with most of the leading Unionist/Nationalist/Loyalist and Republican people of the time and you must have some interesting tales to tell. Yours sincerely Geraint

Like many of the posters on your site, I am a huge fan of your writing and have read many of your books! Agincourt was probably my favorite individual novel (though the Saxon Stories is my favorite series) of yours, and it has prompted me to continue learning about the campaign. I am currently reading Juliet Barker's book based on your Epilogue comments. I have been trying to find more information on Sir John Cornwaille, because Barker portrays him in the same light you do. I have done some internet searches, but are you aware of any biographies of him? Thanks for the excellent work!

Marc

I have just finished reading the saxon stories which were brilliant. I know this new book is coming out and earlier someone asked you if you were writing more, and you answered that you might write more of Uhtred which is great. I was just wondering though are you going to keep writing about him with Alfred or him go off on his own and take back Bebbanburg with Ragnar?
James Haw

Just finished "Agincourt". I was aware that the French lost badly, but, having forgotten Keegan, I was astonished once again at the casualties. I saw a documentary about the mud of that field. Some scientists and historians decided that it was about the worst mud on the Continent. They mixed it and put boots in it connected to cables and strain gauges and it got really technical. Your description is quite clear and tells us what it meant. The ravaging of Soissons reminded me of a trip my wife and I took to Spain with some students. On the way from the Toledo area to Valencia, it seemed every eighth hill--at least--had some kind of fortification on top. I explained that the immense effort was because of things that went bump in the night and that a soldier's pay in those days was free play on the civilians of a town, if they took it. The citizenry would put up with a lot for protection. Question for your Sharpe-era stories: My brother said, years ago, that he had read that historians generally took the nominal unit strength and presumed that was the number of guys in the fight. So if the First Loamshires had a ration strength of 1000, then there were 1000 guys on the road to Quatre Bras. No allowance for 100 gone by desertion, 300 sick and half the rest guarding an artillery park someplace. I went around with another author on the battle of Chalons, disputing the sheer possibility that you could get one million men on that field. I used to be able to move a rifle platoon reasonably well and scaling up is not an unfamiliar process. I mean, hell. Half a million guys on a side, each man taking up two feet, eight ranks deep, you have a battle line twenty-three miles long. We agreed to disagree. I expect the data are more accurate going from Chalons to Waterloo, but in your opinion, do historians overestimate the numbers?
Richard Aubrey

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am up to Sharpe's rifles in your series and am enjoying your works immensely. I just came off reading O'Brien's Master and Commander series which you may know is unfinished. This too I enjoyed considerably, but sad that it is unfinished. I could think of no one better that you to wrap up that series and wonder if that would ever be possible, or even desirable by you. I t would be like a service to literature - and rewarding both financially and in esteem, although you are so highly esteemed already, and I suppose you have enough to do too. Still ... Thank you for providing such great reading, Lloyel Hull

Dear Mr. Cornwell I've recently heard that you are coming to Brazil in septembre. I'd like to know if that is true. If so, I'd also like to know where are you going to be talking! Best wishes.
Yannick Cukierman

Hello Mr Cornwell, Just a quick question for you. I got my hands on The Sharpe Companion book. Is it better to read this book after I have read all the Sharpe books, between, or before. So far I only read Sharpe's Tiger and currently reading Sharpe's Triumph. Where would the companion fit in. Thanks in advance, your avid reader, Vadim.

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I appreciate the Saxon Stories very much and have just finished reading Sword Song. I've seen that the fifth book Burning Land is going to be released this year and can't wait to get it into my hands. My question is, how many parts do you plan for Saxon Stories? greeting Martin