Your Questions

Q

First off I'd like to thank you for the great books you have written over the years, all brill, but have a couple of questions. First is have you ever thought of writing a book set sometime in the 20th century, because I would really enjoy one of your books set in this time period. And second have you ever had the opportunity to meet Conn Iggulden, and what did you think of the Emperor series? Thanks James Russell

Submitted April 24, 2006

A

I don't plan on a book set in the 20th century

I've met Conn a couple of times, like him a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed the Emperor series!

Q

I am looking forward to the screening of Sharpe's Challenge the weekend coming, and just wanted to ask , as this is not based on a current book, whether there are any plans for a book to follow? Michael Stephens

Submitted April 24, 2006

A

There are no plans for a book of 'Sharpe's Challenge' which is, very loosely, based on Sharpe's Tiger and Sharpe's FortressL (loosely being the operative word - but it's a romp and I hope you enjoyed it). There will be a new Sharpe book later this year (Sharpe's Fury), but that takes place in 1811 - and a very long way from India.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Thank you for all the hours and days of enjoyment from your books. I first started with your Sharpe books, then the Saxon stories, and just now finishing on the Grail Quest. I love all of the characters, but I confess my favorite of favorites is Uhtred. I hope you will not take this badly, but I notice you seem to be very "economical" with maps -- that is with very few exceptions, your books are nearly devoid of maps, especially battle or tactical maps. As a military history buff, even I have had to dust off a copy or two of books with maps from my shelf to just keep up with the plot, and although you are very good in your descriptions, why not add an extra maps here and there to help your reads more easily grasp the tactical situation. For example, in the Grail Quest - why not a map of Crecy or La Roche-Derriere? In the Last Kingdom, there are several places where I think it would have been helpful to your readers. Just a thought for the future. Again, thank you for incredible stories. - John

Submitted April 24, 2006

A

I'm not economical with maps at all! I'm lavish with them, generous to a fault, but then the publishers get their say and the maps get chopped away. I could insist, of course, but it does mysteriously raise the cost of the book to the point where it would be self-defeating. I agree with you - they could almost all do with more maps, and I promise to go on fighting the good fight.

Q

Firstly, love your books, and always enjoy checking out the web-site. I have a couple of quick questions I'd be interested to hear your views on. Are there any 'lost' (ie inpublished) novels hidden away? I heard somewhere that a 4th 'archer' book was started then shelved, and am curious if any other such curiosities exist? Given that you are currrently juggling 2 series of books (Sharpe and Uhtred)and appear to be under a certain amount of pressure to resurrect Starbuck - how the bl***y hell do you organise / prioritise your work without cracking up?

I know you've done signing tours for books, but have you any plans or desire to do any public speaking / Q&A type events? My father & I saw you in discussion with George MacDonald Fraser at Hay on Wye last year, which came across as funny, natural and informative - certainly if you found it hellish you hid it well. Nick

Submitted April 24, 2006

A

I don't have any 'lost' novels. There are a couple that didn't work and were abandoned, but they long ago served usefully as fire-lighters. I don't think it's a question of priorities - if I didn't enjoy writing the books then I couldn't do it, and I only do one at a time. So I'm finishing Sharpe's Fury now, and there's a tiny portion of what passes for my mind thinking about the next Alfred, but I won't really start thinking about Uhtred again until Sharpe is well finished - which will be about two more weeks, then, for a time, I'll immerse myself in Anglo-Saxon material and Sharpe will be temporarily forgotten.

I do quite a lot, and quite enjoy doing it! It isn't hellish at all, and it was pure pleasure to share a stage with George MacDonald Fraser. If you look at the diary page of this website you'll find out where my next appearance is (Winchester and York in May).

Q

Hi Bernard, just discovered your web site and wanted to say thanks for all the hours of enjoyment your books have given me. I have been a fan since the age of seventeen and have read every book you have written that I could get my hands on (and now i find there are Sharpe short stories too !!) I was just wondering if you ever intended to write a novel reuniting Sharpe with his daughter Antonia or if you would ever write another book about the Lazender family? Frances Speller

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

Another Lazender book? It might happen . . . it isn't on the radar yet, but I've thought about it from time to time. Antonia? I'm sure she lived happily ever after...

Q

Hey I'm a great fan of Sharpe, and adore your work! Just wondering what is the favourite Sharpe book that you've written? And was the information I received correct in saying that there is a new Sharpe book coming soon? carry on the great work! Charlotte

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

My favourite Sharpe book? I really like Seige, but I also really like Tiger, and Regiment and Trafalgar and Company, and many others. But my favourite Sharpe book is always the next one, which in this case will be Sharpe's Fury - coming to the UK in October.

Q

Can you tell me how many printings were done of Sharpe's Eagle by Viking Press? Thanks. Bill Berlat

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

I fear I don't know - but I doubt it was more than 5,000. There could be a bibliography somewhere that tells us? I suppose I ought to know, but if I was ever told I have long forgotten.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am a doctoral student in sociology, and SHARPE'S COMPANY was one of the inspirations for my thesis topic which is on suicide attack. However, I have struggled to find information on the forlorn hope. I have checked out Richard Holmes' REDCOAT based on the FAQ archive. I was wondering if you could provide any other sources, or at least a place to look. By the way, I plan to read all of Sharpe as soon as my studies allow. Thank you. Sincerely, Steve

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

I have a vague memory that you'll find a good discussion of the Forlorn Hope in John Shipp's memoirs. I'm not going to swear to that and I don't have time right now to go through the two volumes (which are not indexed). I don't think the name Forlorn Hope was ever official, so you'll be hard pressed to find the subject treated in textbooks, but if you read the best accounts of any siege (try Weller on Badajoz, Cuidad Rodrigo and San Sebastian) you're going to get a good deal of material.

Q

Dear Bernard Cornwell, As an avid archer I was pleased to finally see a series of books on the Longbow. It was interesting to note that you used Robert Hardy's suggestion of having the archers in front of the army at the battle of Crecy in your book Harlequin. I am intrigued where this idea came from and how you found out Robert Hardy being an expert on the Longbow. Regards Peter

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

Almost certainly from his splendid book, Longbow, which, annoyingly, I can't lay my hands on because it's lost in the horrible mess I call a desk. It was published some years ago, is a terrific read, and is about to be republished.

Q

Like so many others, I absolutely love your work and can't thank you enough for the entertainment and for helping me discover that history is fun. Your writing has a particular structure, from the beginning of a chapter, through the plot development, and then ending, usually, in a set up for someting coming later. It's a structure (perhaps it's better called a cadence?) that I really enjoy and I think Frederick Davidson did a fabulous job with it when he performed your books for tape. Have you listened to Mr. Davidson's performances? I imagine that to a writer this is an amazingly ignorant question, but I'd like to know how aware are you of this? Do you really work on making that happen or is it just what comes out? Were you influenced by another writer or is the pattern and timing something you consider very much your own style? I really enjoy the way you develop plots around politics, money (lawyers), religion, and people just trying to live their lives. Brilliant, entertaining work! John

Submitted April 18, 2006

A

Aren't you kind, thank you. And yes, I think Frederick Davidson does a terrific job. Is the 'cadence' deliberate? You bet! The hard part of writing a book is not putting the words down, but developing the plot, which means endless revisions. I call it 'putting doors into alleyways', by which I mean that I frequently end up in Chatpter Ten with Sharpe trapped in a dead-end alley, with a broken sword and an unloaded rifle, faced with fifty vengeful Frenchmen about to tear him to shreds. There is no escape, unless you go back to, say, chapter three and introduce the alleyway and carefully put a door into it. That way no one is surprised by Sharpe's escape. I spend hours doing that sort of thing, and the whole point of it is that the reader is never supposed to notice!