Bulletin Board

Q

Dear Bernard,

I'm starting the tenth book from your Saxon stories. I'm from Spain, but I lived in England some time ago. I used to hike and enjoy the old Roman roads there, and while walking, I sometimes found places that really resemble the ones you describe in your book.

I just wanted to thank you for the great memories you brought me back from these times, and for giving me an excuse to live, through your books, in a horrible, dark and magnificent age like the Middle Ages. Take the best care of yourself, and thanks for the great moments.

David

 


Q

Dear Bernard

If there's one unit Sharpe should or could meet, it's the Colonial Black Marines, ie the Black Redcoats. Cochrane and Cockburn did the Emancipation Proclamation 50 years early and a number of escaped Slaves formed a highly effective Combat unit that fought at Bladensburg and North Point. Sharpe should fight with these guys at some point. If you've not read it Matthew Taylor book the Black Redcoats is an excellent and fascinating book on a unit that many aren't aware of and I'd recommend

Regards Geraint

This video interview by the author maybe of interest https://youtu.be/jae88yaVCb8?si=A8zDQm460ew-UWVN

 


Q

Hi Mr. Cornwell,

 

I hope this message finds you well, and writing!

I finished the Warlord Chronicles and felt compelled to write you.

 

As a former historian, and lover of all things Arthur / Arthurian legend, I just wanted to thank you.

 

This series is a gift to the world, and we can never repay you for the story you told us.

What a joy to have experienced this world, these characters, and your words.

 

I wish there was a way for us to experience the world once more, however the ending is perfect. If you wrote fifty more books in that world, I would read them all.

 

Thank you once again for the stories.

Very Best,

Laura


Q

Simple request…please complete the Starbuck Chronicles!

 

Thank You,

Joe T.

 

Simply put.  Please write a continuation of the Starbuck Chronicles.  I have just finished reading book 4 and I was wondering how you were going to finish the series and I found out that you haven't.  It was a very good series and I am sure there are many others who would like to see a conclusion.  Thanks and I really enjoy your books.  I think I have read most off them.

Ken

 

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Q

Sir,

 

I have, in the last hour, finished the last audiobook of The Grail Quest and I am feeling a wild array of feelings.

 

Some context: some many years ago, that I dare not count, I picked up a copy of Harlequin from a local charity shop having seen it was by you and I already loved the Sharpe series. It was magnificent and eventually managed to find Vagabond, which equally blew me away.  The third has always eluded me and with life getting in the way I have never found the time to purchase and binge as I wished to.  This is where I thank Audible for a 3 month subscription deal and when I saw it in April, I knew what I had to do.

 

So it has taken me possibly 20 years to get here. To this moment. From book one I knew what the grail was (not a brag I promise, it just stuck out from the page to me) and oh how I have shouted at Thomas whilst both reading and listening.

 

So I now feel a little lost. I have completed my own grail quest, to finish this most wonderful series. I wish only to extend my deepest gratitude for it. I wish it were as well known as Sharpe or The Saxon Stories but I will always treasure it and I know I will revisit.

 

With love and thanks

 

Meghann

 

P.S. I have a private yard of 7 horses and while they were still coming in overnight in April the sounds and smells of the morning muckout while listening really helped Thomas's world have an extra dimension I feel most people would not get to enjoy!



Q

Dear Bernard,

 

I would like to thank you for the fascinating journey you offered me during the 12 volumes I devoured in the last 7 years since I read the first pages of the “Last Kingdom” epic.

I have to confess that I went on this trip after watching the first episodes of the television series while I was living in London, where I worked for 6 years, until 2020.

I'm 100% Romanian, I'm not young anymore, and my education during school (more than 50 years ago!) was rather based on French culture until the High School years when, during my first lessons of English, I discovered my passion for British culture.

At the same time, starting on the 70s, everything that belonged to British culture, it began to be (again!) promoted a lot which also fueled my passion for British culture and history.

I've read a lot of novels written by British authors, and the number of British films and TV series I've watched is really huge! (you must know that in Romania, films are subtitled in Romanian on a tape at the bottom of the screen, keeping the original language of the movie, which can give you the chance to better understand the original spirit of the movie).

So, finding myself in London, I bought the first volume of Last Kingdom, which I found in English obviously. I told myself that this will help me improving my English as much as possible. But ... I slowly realized that this could distort the spirit of exceptional story that I already adored. So I waited until I could order the volumes from Romania, one by one printed in my native language. I can't miss this opportunity to tell you that I have always thanked to the Romanian translators, who did an extraordinary job, managing to make me live many times what you have felt when you originally wrote!

I have finished reading the last volume translated into Romanian (which is the 12th, Sword of Kings!) and printed few years ago, and I still am waiting for the next volume to appear in Romanian! In the meantime, I have of course watched the last TV series (Seven Kings must die), but .... I have always been convinced that during filming it is extremely difficult to preserve all the real  feelings of the author of the novel!

Well, for more than 2 years, I've been looking at the 13th volume (War Lord) but ... it is still printed to us in English version only (!!), because (curiously) it has not yet been translated into Romanian! Yes, I understand the English and I can read and speak it quite well, but .... I don't want to distort the beauty of the book by reading it for the first time in the original language (I have managed to read 3 volumes in English, but obviously, only after the first lecture was in Romanian!)

Anyway, I am sure that the Romanian version will also appear soon, it is probably due to taxes or price misunderstandings between publishing houses, etc.

 

So that, because I can't wait until then,

 

For everything I felt throughout your exceptional story, I bow down with all respect and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I wish you from all my heart, good health and strength to write for many years to come!

 

With all my love and respect,

 

Constantin Radu DEMENE

A

Thank you!  I too hope you will be able to read the 13th book of the series in your native language soon!


Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

 

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the recent change of narrators in the audiobook version of "The Last Kingdom" series. While I understand that narrators may change for various reasons, I was surprised and disappointed by the significant differences between the new narrator, Matt Bates, and the previous one, Jonathan Keeble.

 

With Jonathan Keeble, I felt deeply connected to the characters and their journey. His narration style, accent, and character interpretations brought the story to life in a way that resonated profoundly with me. However, Matt Bates' portrayal, although skilled, feels a million miles away from what I had grown accustomed to. The change in accent and the different characteristics he brings to the narration have made it challenging for me to stay immersed in the story.

 

I have greatly enjoyed your writing and have been an avid follower of "The Last Kingdom" series. The shift in narration has impacted my experience significantly, and I wanted to share this feedback with you. I hope this perspective might be taken into consideration for future decisions regarding the audiobook narrations.

 

Thank you for your time and for the incredible stories you continue to create.

 

Best regards,

 

Andy

A

I have no involvement in the audio books - or choice of narrator - but perhaps Mr. Keeble was not available?


Q

Hi Bernard,

how are you? My name is Érick, I am currently 24 years old and I live in Santa Catarina, Brazil. I would like to say that you are my favorite author and I still hope to get your autograph someday and maybe have a chat about your works. Furthermore, I would like to share an experience I had in 2015 that marked me deeply and I remember it clearly to this day.

 

Since I was very young, I have always been passionate about history, especially modern and medieval wars, and in 2015 I saw that the series The Last Kingdom was going to be released, and I learned that it was based on your books. With that, I decided to learn more about you and your works and I ended up discovering that you published the Arthur trilogy. After hearing many praises about this work, I decided to buy the three books, and during my school holidays in 2015, I went to the beach house where we had no internet and not many things to do. Because of that, I took the opportunity to start reading the Arthur trilogy.

 

As the days went by, I found myself falling in love with the whole story and its characters to the point of waking up early in the morning and reading until bedtime, completely in love with the universe you described. After a few weeks, I finished the entire trilogy. I remember very well that as I got closer to the end, more and more beloved characters died, and I cried with tears filling my eyes. After weeks of following that group of characters that I loved so much, I couldn't help but cry at their losses and suffering. After finishing the saga, I was completely devastated and felt like I had lost a family member because of how attached I was to everything created by the saga. For two weeks, when I took a shower, I cried to the point of sobbing and felt a tightness in my heart because of everything that happened to the characters and the sad fates they had at the end of their lives.

From 2015 until today, out of all the media we have to consume stories, like movies, series, and books, no story has impacted and marked me as much as that of Arthur and his warriors. I will always cherish these characters and their stories, and I thank you for being able to teleport me to an incredible time simply. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Bernard.

From your most sincere fan,

Érick.

A

Thank you for your very kind words.


Q

hello, i just had to write to thank you, i am an avid reader but have been going through what i can only describe as a very long dry spell, not been able to find the book that gets me wanting to turn the pages again, i went to my shelf and picked up 1356, a book i read a years ago, thanks! it is a breathe of fresh air to read it again, and i am looking forward now to re reading the grail series of books which have been sat on the shelf for a long long while, thank you,  I'm also looking forward now to re reading all your books that i have on the shelf, thanks again.

 

sincerely

chris jones