Your Questions

Q

Dear Bernard, first let me say I have just finished reading Sharpes Escape and I enjoyed it immensely. A great read. But I was wondering if after the Last Kingdom if you might get back to Starbuck it has been awhile! Also wondering if you had read Peter Cozzen's book on the battle Chickamauga?. It truly was a soldiers battle and wondered if you might be tempted to get Starbuck there. And as another posted said it would be great to see Starbuck go west and fight the likes of Grant and Sherman. Ceratianly even if you do not decide to send him west (I hope otherwise) would you write about his experiances at Malvern Hill. Contemperary accounts often describe it as a holocaust and it does seem a slightly tragic prequel to Gettysburg. On a different period there has been many fictional books on the Roman period but with the exception of possibly Boudicca (Incidently Mel Gibson's new film about her is being billed as Braveheart with a bra!!) little has been written from the people fighting the Romans perspective. Could you ever be tempted to write about Hannibal and his battles. After all Trebia/Tresymane and Cannae are legendary while even his final defeat at Zama was with his own tactics. It would be great to see you write about Hannibal especialy Cannae which is a legendary victory that other victories are measured against. Finally Napoelon considered his 7 greatest commanders of all time as Alexander/Caeser/Hannibal/Gustuvas Adolphus/Turenne/Eugene and Fredrick the great, who would you consider your 7 top generals of the past??? All the best Tony.

A

I haven't read Peter Cozzen's book, but I will - thank you. I may be tempted by Hannibal someday, but there are other projects to complete first. Top 7? Lord knows . . . Caesar - Alexander - Gustavus Adolphus - Marlborough - Frederick the Great - Wellington - Napoleon - that's straight off the top of my head, and we're missing Grant and Lee - need more time to think!


Q

Bernard I am currently half way through reading Mark Urban's 'Rifles' book detailing their exploits during the Peninsular wars, I'm sure you've heard of it if not read it. Anyway while reading the account of the Busaco battle yesterday a question came to mind on the account you gave in 'Sharpe's Escape' - Why did you have Sharpe fighting with Picton's division and not with the 95th, as I thought this was his actual regiment? I know it was mentioned in the book he had stayed in the regiment he was with as he was the acting major (or whatever rank he had). Did this just fit better with your story to keep him out of the 95th? Just curious as to why you kept him out of the Rifles? As from the sounds of the actions they took part in, many of these seem as if they would suit a Sharpe story. Do you plan to have Sharpe back with the 95th for the rest of the Peninsular war, that is of course. if the next Sharpe book is still going to focus on this area. Simon

A

Because if I kept Sharpe in the 95th then all my books are limited by what that regiment actually did in the wars, so to give myself freedom I moved him to a fictional regiment. Sharpe will do whatever he has to do, poor sod, but I doubt he'll ever get back to the 95th properly, but who knows?


Q

Thank you for many hours of reading pleasure and trips to other times and places. A couple of idle questions for a rainy day: How do the Sharpe's books do in France? Is the delay in the Starbuck books due in part to a glut of Civil War novels or to difficulties in having the hero on the "wrong" side in this politically correct world? What is the tiniest nit someone has picked in one of your books? Just curious! M. Walsh

A

Sharpe books in France? Firelighters? The delay in Starbuck is entirely because the TV series of Sharpe came along and it was more sensible to write Sharpe novels than Starbuck novels, and as soon as I've got Sharpe out of my system I'll go back to Starbuck. And the tiniest nit picked? An eight page, utterly furious letter because I'd got a bit of Boston's geography slightly wrong - very slightly - and I don't even remember what it was now, but it came from a Starbuck book.


Q

I know it would be difficult to give me an accurate answer, but how many modern-day pounds would would go into a 19th Century pound, I just keep trying to get my head around the sums of money described in the Sharpe books, and keep failing! Also, a little cheesy, but does your Wellington actually like Sharpe? it's difficult to tell, I need to know that one of my heroes likes and respects the other! thanks for your time, James Trethowan.

A

It is difficult - but you can use some comparisons - and these are rough as well, because there was considerable inflation during the Napoleonic Wars, but taking 1810 as an average sort of year - a bricklayer earned a pound a week, a farm labourer about 70p a week - these, plus other figures, suggests that you need multiply by at least 600 - probably nearer a thousand to get anything like a present day value. I do have some more accurate estimates somewhere, but can't immediately lay my hands on them - and I now think the translation I provided in the Historical Note of Sharpe's Revenge is much too low.

Does Wellington like Sharpe? I doubt it. Or if he did he wouldn't be too ready to admit it. Wellington was a snob, sadly, and drew his friends from his own upper class, and didn't have much time for 'adventurers' like Sharpe - and certainly disapproved of men being promoted from the ranks ('they always take to drink'), but as he owes his life to Sharpe the relationship gets a bit complicated, which is how I like it.


Q

In several of your Sharpe books, politicians don't hold much favour with the miltiary...especially in Sharpe's Enemy. Did you find historical records of this attitude? At a D-Day memorial on June 6th here in Woostock, Ont., Canada I struck up a conversation with a man I've known for several years. We got talking of the various wars in Europe and expressed a similar interest in the Napoleonic Wars. Almost in unison we mentioned your name. Two hours later we were the only ones left at the memorial cenotaph. We've made a date for tea and a chance to compare notes. You made our day. Thanks Dan MacGillivray

A

Thanks for your message Dan - I'm glad to hear it. There are plenty of historical records - politicians being politicians - they argue. There was a lot of (mainly) Whig opposition to the British army even being in Spain - naturally, when the war was over and won no one admitted to this. Some individual politicians were personally opposed to Wellington - notably Sir Banestre Tarleton ('The Green Dragoon' who was 'killed' in Mel Gibson's 'The Patriot') - he was an ex-soldier turned parliamentarian who was a thorn in Wellington's side for a time.


Q

"odds on surviving when there's no mains water/electricity/gas/sewage? Head for the hills"--hopefully there is a library in the hills stocked with all of your books. It would have been really helpful if you had written history textbooks in 1970 when my brain was under seige at school--I might have had a shot at a passing grade and actually enjoyed it!!! Would definitely have made a student's year in France more interesting. My son,11, is addicted to War Craft III --video game, dare I introduce him to Thomas the archer? PS. Are there any good maps online of the areas described in Heretic--I'm reading it now, but as I'm a "visual learner", a map would help to follow the action. Ellie Boyd

A

None that I know of - I used good old fashioned paper maps - but very large scale ones - you could find the places though on the Michelin 1/200,000 series, and you'll need sheets number 234 and 235. I hope your son will enjoy meeting Thomas.


Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am an avid wargamer, and am currently researching an army of Kernow and/or Dumnonia, and am devouring the Warlord series at an obscene rate! The descriptions you give of the standards (e.g. Trsitan's Hawk of Kernow) are exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Are these based on any specific historical sources, or artistic license on your part (based on contemporary evidence)? Cheers, Jan Monk.

A

They're artistic license, I fear. But the one thing I'm fairly sure of is that they didn't use flags as we understand them - Viking standards were small triangles supported on their top edge by a short cross staff - and that seems more typical of the time.


Q

Dear Mr Cornwell I have been a fan of your work ever since the first Sharpe programmes appeared on the television. I have purchased a number of your books and at present are going through the Sharpe novels in historical order. I have recently been given the dvd set of the fourteen Sharpe episodes and included in this series are two that do not appear in your list of the Sharpe novels. They are Sharpe's Mission and Sharpe's justice. Are these part of other stories and if so which or were they written just for the television company and where do they fit into the historical order. Regards Richard Cattell

A

'Sharpe's Mission' and 'Sharpe's Justice' are not based on any of my books but were written by the screenwriters for the tv series. 'Sharpe's Mission' takes place in 1810 (just after the battle of Talavera) and 'Sharpe's Justice' in 1813 before the battle of Waterloo.


Q

Dear Bernard, first of all I must apolgize for the jumbled message of my earlier post. It was meant to be British perspective during the American Revolution.#################### Btw at Albuera will Sharpe be with the Die Hards or the Fuzilier Brigade and will he be on his own with Harper or with whole South Essex??? Also will Sharpe finally find out about Astrid's murderer Pumphery's using of him??? And while you are right that it might be awkward it's not impossible since I did read in Flecthers Bloody Albuera that a 60th rifleman (forgot the name) did manage to fight at both Fuentes and Albuera####### Also I can recommend British at the Gates by Robin Rielly as worth a read. Geriant

A

Thanks for the recommendation! I don't know what Sharpe will be doing at Albuera, or if he will even get there. I hope he does, but I haven't started work on the book yet. I think he ought to find out about Pumphrey - we'll see!


Q

Dear Mr Cornwell I am about half way through Havoc, and am enjoying it immensly. However I do get the impression it is....how can I put it, slightly anti european in nature. Is this a deliberate ploy, especially with the European Parliamentary elections about to take place in the UK? Ian White

A

Anti European? Moi? Not me! But I can't quite understand why Britain so eagerly rushes to put its legislative process under the control of the two most dysfunctional states in European history. I like the idea of the Common Market, but not of a European Union.