Your Questions

When is the next Uhtred story scheduled to come out?? I recommend them to anyone who will listen! Thanks for all the hours of enjoyable reading. Daren Driskill

I have read and loved every one of the Arthur books, Stonehenge, The Grail Quest, and the Saxon Stories. Are there to be more of the Saxon stories and if so when? If not are you working on any other "Knightly" type novels and if so when will one be published? I am suffering for a novel........

Becci Placke

Hi Mr Cornwell, Ive just finished your Alfred series, and i could not put them down. I am just wondering if you are writing another book in the series, and if so,(sorry for sounding impatient!) when can we expect it to be released? thanks very much, Clo

Bernard I just wanted to say that I am a big fan and enjoy reading your books. I cannot remember the amount of times i have read the warlord chronicles and others. I have just started reading The last Kingdom for about the tenth time again. I was just wondering when the latest book in the series shall be released in Australia and if there is any info on the plot available or if there shall be others that follow. I really enjoyed the Arthur tales and was wondering if you know of any other good Arthur books. Thank you for your time Greg

Dear Sir, I'm a huge fan of the Sharpe series. I started reading just under a year ago with Sharpe's Rifles, then the three India novels (Haven't read Trafalgar yet) and then the Peninsular series, up to siege. I'm starting on the next one soon. The books have really started a huge interest in me about the war at that time - Ranks, organisation etc. I have a few queries (The most specific right now being the difference in the rank of Colonel and Lt. Colonel, and who can lead a Battalion, and who cannot?). Are there any websites you could recommend which explain the old army system in great detail? I'd appreciate it.

I also have a question about the series, which I'd be so grateful if you'd answer, in regards to Sharpe's Revenge. At the end he effectively is allowed to make any request he wants of Lord Fenner, why does he wish to serve under the Colonel from the second Battalion when he is clearly very upset at not being given command in Sharpe's Siege? Why not request a Colonels rank and Full command of the South Essex (Or better)? Thanks for answering the questions and thanks again for the book. I have a lot of respect for the amount of effort this site suggests you put in to communicating with Fans. Pete

Hi Bernard, Just one question : where do you get so much inspiration for the many scenes of violence in you books (the Saxon series for instance)? Have you been involved a war yourself ? Thanks Erik

Having been re-reading the Sharpe books, I have to say that I think Fortress, or possibly Triumph are my favourites at the moment - possibly because there are so many turns in the plot. Any chance you'll set another book in India? If you write another Sharpe book, I guess it's not so easy to find a large battle amongst Wellington's campaigns you haven't covered yet. Any particular historical gaps you might set a Sharpe book in? David Camidge

Hi Bernard, I was just wondering why the Uk and US covers are different? Ive noticed with afew of my other fav authors that the covers are different too. Personaly in most cases I think the UK versions are always better. Do you have much say in what goes on the covers?
Heather

I love your book, The Pale Horseman, but I don't love Uhtred. He is having all the fun, and Iseult, the one cool woman besides Aethelflaed gets killed. Further, he's a total pr___. Sorry, but that's what he is. It would be great to see him get humiliated, and also to see you create some great, womanly characters who can fight well, and kill, but also are a bit more moral than Uhtred. Give us a woman who really rocks! Thanks. Boys shouldn't be allowed to have all the fun. Surely there were some Danish or Saxon women who broke the mold! Tx.
Julie

Dear Bernard, I have read and enjoyed every book in your brilliant Sharpe series (as well as most of the others), thanks for writing such a brilliant set of books. However as someone from the north of England there seem to be very few characters in Sharpe from there, any chance of adding one perhaps, you could even use my name, or not. Not a complaint really, just a bit of a shame I feel, you might well disagree, they are your books after all. Also what is your greatest regret in writing the Sharpe books. Warmest regards from a devoted reader, Matthew Hitchen, Lancs.

Dear Mr. Cornwell, Congratulations on the wonderful achievement of the Saxon Stories. My wife and I have both loved them and are eagerly awaiting the next installment. I have been writing on Alfred for years, so it wasn't long before I was saying to myself, Wow! He has done all the research! The rendition of fighting in the shield wall was tremendous, Homeric in intensity, and in my experience unprecedented. If you care to recommend any further reading in the period for us to divert ourselves while waiting for Sword Song, we would appreciate it. Best wishes, Bill C.

Mr. Cornwell I must say youre the only author I have ever been compelled to write to. The first book I ever read of yours was Stonehenge, and then I moved on to The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur. I just finished Lords of the North. Shame on me for not reading the first two but it was the only one on the shelves of the series. It was a good three day read and I am (as usual) disappointed that the story is over (thus far anyway). Was that your clever way (in your authors note) of hinting at another story to come for Uhtred? I hope so& I must compliment you on your intricately written battle scenes. Few writers have had me on the edge of my seat during a written fight scene. Lately I have been wondering if maybe you possess a bit of a psychic streak with certain news articles that have appeared in the last year about villages near Stonehenge and a (Persian?) mummy with a golden eye. Though Nimue wasnt Persian I still found it uncanny. I am a 24 year old aspiring novelist not born, but raised and living in the middle of Alaska since I was two. My first book is being published a chapter at a time on the web. Its a Drama/ Sci-fi. Probably not your reading preference. Though its not mine either so who knows! I prefer historical fiction, mostly from the European area. But I dislike the study that goes along with writing the genre. Why I find astrophysics easier than untangling the web of history I will never know. Some of the other authors I enjoy are Rosalind Miles, (I have read her Guinevere series, which wildly contrast your Arthur series) Margaret George, though Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles has failed to capture my interest, Memoirs of Cleopatra, Mary Called Magdalene and Henry VIII were incredibly written. Perhaps I should save these comments for their authors, though if you have read them, youll understand. Now that I have realized that I am rambling and havent actually presented you with a question I suppose the only thing Im really curious about is this: So far, in the novels I have read you seem to favor the Pagans and the Christian monks/priests are almost always evil in nature but for the one key good guy priest. Arthur converted, or at least entertained the idea. Derfel converted, though it wasnt really a willing submission. I sense that sometime before Uhtred ends his tale he will convert as well but also secretly revel in his memories of the good ol days as Derfel did. Who do you favor? If either& One of your many enthralled readers, S.G. Sea

Hi Bernard Just wanted to say that I have only just got into the Sharpe books via a mate who allowed me, graciously as I now understand, to borrow Sharpe's Tiger to 'see how I got on with it'. Well, I have now swept through most of the series and it has been a real treasure to have discovered such a wonderful hero such as Sharpe, and equally, such a rich and historically relevant backdrop. I find myself unable to discern now between the separate books as the series seems to have blended into a glorious epic story. I am blessed, in a way, to have come to these books late, so I can read them in narrative order! I came to the series ignorant, mostly, of Wellington's achievements through out the early 1800's, and have discovered a real desire to discover more of this era of European history. I wondered if you could suggest a few books to help me understand the person of Napoleon more. Most of your work has to concentrate on the British side of the story, but I would be interested to read accounts from Napoleon's inner courts of their perspective of the era. Thanks once again for picking up a pen, and writing such riveting stories, with such contemporary relevance! cheers Jonny Tokyo