Your Questions

Q

Dear Bernard In reply to the May the 4th query on what was considered the best British unit on the American revolution then the fairly universal opinion considered is that debatebly the best of EITHER side is the loyalist unit the Queens Rangers led by John Simcoe which was a mix of both Light cavalry and Riflemen/skirmishers and was argubly the percursor to units the 95th and used with great success for skirmishing and counter-insurgency operations which would have some relevence in this modern age. This leads into the question in that since the French had no rifle units whether you considered sending Sharpe to Canada in the war of 1812 (before the promise)to fight American rifle-units to see how Sharpe would fare Could he handle the big leauges He beats Musket units all the time but would he still be able to be best of the best against another rifleman-unit??? btw If you ever write about the Siege of Burgos will Hakeswill since he is alive at the time make a final appearance to make Sharpe's life a misery? all the best Geraint

A

I ain't going there either, but doubtless you can find the answer in Pierre Berton's books?

It's on the radar . . . . . don't know yet!


Q

Dear Mr Cornwell I enjoy your books tremendously and find them not only a thoroughly enjoyable read and interesting from the military history point of view. I wonder if you have ever considered a series about Mehmet the Conqueror, an intensely interesting man who virtually kick-started the Renaissance by capturing Constantinople. I have never seen anything about this man other than history though he had an immense impact on Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Not only that there were his enemies such as Georg Skanderberg and Jan Hunyadi and perhaps a very young Vlad Tepes. These are real people who, like your characters, were very interesting from the stand point of history and of character. Though since you have so many series going one more may not be possible.
Paul

A

The real difficulty is finding the time to do the immense amount of research needed - not on the campaigns, which are simple enough, but on the society which Mehmet came from . . . and that's a matter of too much time. But who knows? Maybe I'll tackle him when I retire . . .


Q

The books on Uthred "and friends" are really captivating, even compared to your other enjoyable and fascinating body of works. You really are the Patrick O'Brian (God rest his soul) of the "Historical land conflict Saga", which even though such a comparison is pretty inappropriate (you are trying to achieve different things), I think demonstrates a distinction you both share with respect to the historical novel. That being, that in this genera where you are both clearly ahead of everyone else in your respective fields in a way evident to both the lay-enthusiast and academic/"literati". First of all I was wondering whether Uthred's son will see the Norman invasion in his late 70's if I have done my sums correctly - with his son fighting on the Hill near Hastings - bringing the series full circle between the two different invaders of these shores. I am presuming this would make a good sequel to "Thee Lords of the North" ? The historical records of these events are very well established I am guessing compared to the material you had to draw on to authenticate the Uthred trilogy ? the researching of material may be more straight forward and allow for more 'detailed and authentic fictional account' (if you get what I mean in my contradiction). It occured to me that the books 'Last Kingdom' and 'Pale Horse rider' would make a great single film, or perhaps with all the material in all the books, a grand trilogy akin to the Lord of the Rings Film adaptation for film. Best regards Dr Edward Jack

A

I have a suspicion that the series will be fairly long without taking it on to one of Uhtred's sons! I think a grandchild would be more likely to see the Norman invasion, though - if Uhtred's second son was born in, say, 890? No - a great-grandson! So I suspect I won't keep the series going that long - but it will be far more than a trilogy - certainly seven or eight books, possibly more. Thanks!


Q

Dear Mr Cornwell. Thanks a lot for the endless reading bliss you have been responsible for. A relative introduced me to your work when I was 13 I'm now 28. I won't make you repeat yourself by asking about more sailing stories because I've read the bulletin board. They are fab though. What I would like to ask you is, will there be any more Rider Sandman novels? Thanks again. Warmest regards - John

A

It's possible! But probably not any time soon.


Q

Just got round to reading Sharpe's Tiger once more, Noticing how the commanding officer of Sharpe was made to head the tribunal of Sharpe's trial of assualting the Sgt. Through Sharpe's career, pls forgive if i have most likely forgot, but did Sharpe ever have to go through with the non action hero duties such as administration like ever have to face being an officer putting people up for flogging? Would be nice to see a story of stch and maybe getting it wrong,, anyways many thanks for the good reads. Laurence

A

He does, and he hates it. In a couple of books he gets lumbered with administrative duties, but those passages don't really last long for the simple reason that he is an action hero! So I tend to refer to them, then leave them alone.


Q

Dear Bernard, I recently re-read Sharpe's Eagle (that is, I read it for the second time) and this time, knowing that it was your first book, noticed that you describe things that happened in Sharpe's past, but which you hadn't then written about. For example, you mention how Sharpe learned to read while captive in the Tippoo Sultan's dungeons. I've since noticed that you do this frequently throughout the series. When you were writing Sharpe's Eagle (if you can remember) did you just throw these references in as a convenient way of explaining an aspect of Sharpe's character? It seems to me that by doing so you're creating a potential consistency nightmare for the earlier books, which of course you wrote after Eagle. But I must say that you managed it very well! Did you find it difficult achieving that consistency in the (chronologically) earlier books, or did you actually plan out Sharpe's life up to the time of Eagle, to make sure that he could actually be where you said he was? It's complicated just asking the question! Many thanks, Chris

A

It's much more complicated writing the books!! I did it all wrong, of course. When I wrote Sharpe's Eagle (and the next ten books) I had no idea that I would one day go back to the Indian stories - so yes, the Indian memories are in the early books to explain things about Sharpe's character, but then I had the problem of writing those earlier adventures and quite a few of the things I'd said didn't fit - so they're not smoothly dovetailed, but rather hammered together. In my next life I'll do it righ (Blunt's Eagle will come after Blunt's Tiger).


Q

Dear Bernard,I have three questions for you: (1)Having read a study that places Arthur as an Irish-Scotti prince of DALRIADA (Uther is not a welsh word it is in fact an achaic gaelic adjective meaning "the terrible".The irish name Artur predates the romans arriving in B'rith ain by at least 3 hundred years.And the name Tristan derives from the cruithni(pictish)name Drustan.),have you ever come across this interesting theory? By the way there was a Dun Baeden in Ulster,the fort of Baeden MacCarill.

(2) A lot of Sharpe fans have taken quite a shine to Captain Fredrickson. Have you thought of a spin-off novel or two with Sweet William getting to battles Sharpe can't possibly get to?

(3)Everyone seems to ask your interest in periods that we are interested in. What periods that you haven't or are currently writing about are you interested in that we may look forward to reading in the future? Thanks for your time. Tomas-Slaine

A

1) I know! And there's another theory that Arthur was an Essex man (wow!), and Cumberland, and even, God help us, a Sarmatian (don't ask). There are as many theories as there are folk interested and, amazingly, one of them is absolutely right, but unless the archaeologists strike lucky I fear we'll never know . . . .

2)It's a nice idea - and I've thought about it in the past, and maybe? Maybe? Not sure.

3) I have a few ideas, but I'll keep them quiet lest someone else jumps in ahead of me.


Q

Mr. Cornwell, I had the pleasure of hearing you talk, and got to speak to you, at a book signing in Charleston, SC, a few years ago. Are there any plans to come to Charleston in the near future? Thank you for all the stories. I particuluarly look foward to the next Sharpe, and to seeing Sharpe's Challenge on American TV, hopefully? Best wishes, Tricia Goodall

A

I enjoy Charleston and hope to get back there at some point, but I don't know when.

You will get to see 'Sharpe's Challenge' in the US on BBC America over Labor Day weekend. BBC America will show all the Sharpe films on Saturdays at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time beginning Saturday 27 May and ending with 'Sharpe's Challenge' in September. Hope you enjoy it!


Q

I have been a fan of the Sharpe books for a few years now. Since mid-2000 I have been participating in re-enactments of the War of 1812. Many of us love the Sharpe series as it is the same time period. I picked up Sharpe's Triumph while I was at Fort George (Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario) and quickly ordered in the rest. I then saw the BBC series aired on The History Channel and Sean Bean fit quite well as Sharpe. The main point of this submission is for a piece of advice. I am an aspiring writer of Historical Fiction and have come across one major hurdle in the process. How do you work in real historical figures? Yes, we know Sir Arthur Wellesley led the British at Waterloo, but how do you write him as a person? My biggest fear in trying to accomplish this is to have a cold blooded killer come off as a hero or, worse yet, to have a hero come off as a drunken slob who cares for no one but himself. I understand with someone like Wellington there is enough known about him that an actual character can be created, but what about someone who I am lucky to find sources that mention him by name (e.g. Lt Frederic Rolette of the Provincial Marines led the capture of the USS Cuyahoga Packet)? Having mentioned I am an aspiring writer I hope my grammar is up to par. Thanks for your time, Ryan McNeilly

A

What I do is, unless there's convincing evidence to the contrary, make the real person into a nice person! In the new book, Sharpe's Fury (coming out later this year), there are several real people - one, for example, is a 21 year old aide de camp, son of the Duke of Bedford, called Lord William Russell, about whom I could discover very little, so I simply made him into a terrifically nice chap and then his descendants can't bitch at me. He might have been an ogre, of course, but without the evidence you can't go there! I hope that helps!


Q

Pardon my curiosity, but whatever happened to Sharpe's daughter Antonia? Would there be any chance she might turn up in a future "Sharpe"? Teresa being such a vivid character, and Sharpe being the perfect match for her, it would be interesting to know how Antonia turned out. I was re-reading Regiment and the poignant paragraph where, crossing into France, he looks back into Spain and thinks of the daughter he leaves behind comes across very strongly. OD.

A

There's always a chance...