Your Questions

Hi, Bernard. I just have a quick question. I wondered where you got the name for Rifleman Isiah Tongue from. Its my family name, and its pretty rare. Especially in that particular spelling ? Many thanks Mike (Tongue)

Hi Bernard, I just wanted to say first off that I'm a massive fan. I scourged the entire city I'm holidaying in to find your books and after around 10 book book stores I finally found the last copies of Excalibur and Enemy of God. Anyway I have two questions. Firstly when is the next Saxon Stories book coming out? And I just finished Excalibur today after a day of reading and I was wondering what happened to all the people on the boat that left Calmann and who became King of Dumnonia? Thanks Kyriakos.

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Having just finished The Pale Horseman, I noted that both Sharpe and Uhtred like skinny women and that the phrasing was more or less identical, which is why it stood out. Do all your heroes like them as well, or do I have to read all of your other books to find out? :)

Also, more seriously, as you show the Christians of fantastically as being weak and pious and the Danes as just getting on with things, do you know why Christianity is now Europe's dominant religion rather than heathenism? Simon

Hi Mr. Cornwell, I was wondering in most of your books, in the very beginning of the book there is of course, a few pages of country maps, city maps, or battle formations that pertain to the story. Do you hand pick these maps and pictures and add them your self, or does someone else handle that?
Trey

Dear Mr Cornwell, Merry Christmas! Thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak to you. Like the others I love all the books. I really don't have a favorite. They are all good. I do have a question after re-reading "Sharpe's Prey"; there seems to be an implied promise that Sharpe would again be assigned missions by the English spymaster Lord Pumphrey yet I don't recall him ever showing up again? Was he replaced by the more likable Major Hogan? It's a minor point, but at 1 AM on a transatlantic flight the mind does often wander. Thank you and Happy New Year! Brendan

I sincerely enjoy what I have read of your books, and have just begun The Last Kingdom. Most of the history is already well known to me, and so seeing it come alive is phenomenal. However, I have a question, this may seem abstract, but on pages 143-144 a character named Toki is introduced who claims to have seen some foreign race of men to worshipped giants and had a third eye in the back of the heads. I was wondering who this might have referred to and if the Danes (or Svear, whom Toki sailed with) ever encountered these people. Thanks, Theo

Poor Sharpe has been a major (@ Waterloo I think), for a long time now. And he probably hates retirement! Isn't he due for promotion to colonel in your next book? Don't forget Harper. The poor guy can't die a sergeant, and he'd positively do flips at being made an unwilling officer. Could be very humorous to finally get Sharpe into a position where he can finally give orders to blue bloods instead of having to find creative ways to survive bad orders from them. Chris Okusako

I am in the process of re-reading the Sharpe series and I am wondering when the British military ended the purchasing of rank (and the officer corps made almost entirely of the upper class) and started promoting men based on achievements? Or is the system still the same as it was during the Napoleonic period? Also, are you brainstorming anymore Sharpe novels? Please say yes. Thank you. Michael

I wrote a long comment and an error occurred. Here goes again - I am aware of your knowledge and research you have done for SHARPE so can you help me ? My GG/Gfather was born in Badajoz 1805 orphaned ? during the siege and ended up in the household of Edward Villiers Ambassador to Spain, I just want to expand my background knowledge of this time and the people involved to try and work out how a Spanish gypsy boy got to England and became my ancestor! just wonder if you could help me in my quest nothing ventured etc. thank you Eileen

Dear Mr.Cornwell, thank you for the Saxon Stories you have written so far and long may your imagination continue.You have hinted that they will continue beyond Alfred the Great but I'm curious to know how far.My local town of Gillingham,Dorset has an area known as Slaughtergate where Edmund Ironside defeated King Canute in around 1015? and was wondering if we would feature in one of your forthcoming novels.Another claim to fame we have is that Edward the Confessor was declared King here in 1042.Our forest was a favourite of King John and he built A hunting lodge here which was used for about 200 years til the time of HenryIII,so our little corner of Wessex has quite a slice of our country's royal history.Keep up the good work PLEASE!!!!!!!! Adrian.