Dear Mr Cornwell,

I was re-reading bits of The Pagan Lord the other day, including the angry exchange between Uhtred and his uncle Aelfric. Aelfric accuses Uhtred of never having held any of the land and riches he has won, and declares that even if Uhtred had inherited Bebbanburg he would have simply lost it through his hot-headed arrogance.

That dialogue made me stop and think. Aelfric comes across as a treacherous snake (of course, Uhtred is slightly biased here…) but does he not in fact make a very good point? Would hot-headed Uhtred have been able to hold Bebbanburg for so long in a Danish-controlled Northumbria the way Aelfric did? Did you have that idea in mind when you wrote this passage?

Also, I noticed in Amazon’s description for The Empty Throne that “new enemies appear on the northern frontier”. Is Uhtred going to be having that trouble with Constantine and his son that he alluded to in The Burning Land?

Thank you kindly,
Vince