Bulletin Board

Dear Mr Cornwell, I may be going on holiday to Portugal this summer, an was wondering other than Badajoz where would there be good places to go an see the old Napoleonic battle sites. Chris

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I am a voracious reader, especially of adventuresome historical fiction. I recently discovered your books (and I am glad there are many). Being a writer, I admire well-woven yarns and being a history buff (and actually a specialist in some areas) I enjoy the sensory recreation of different time periods via words. I am, thus, taking quite a delight in your books. I particularly liked Gallows Thief. Both for plot, resonance and technique -- I thought each chapter was a self-contained gem. I could go on with this deserved encomium, but I also wanted to point out one inaccuracy in Sharpe's Prey. There are a few references to Gold Guineas bearing the depiction of St. George and the dragon. The plot takes place in 1807. The first British gold coin to depict St. George however was the Sovereign of 1817. The George III Guineas struck from 1787 to 1799 (these would most likely be the issues that would have been used in the plot as there were no Guineas struck from 1800 to 1812) show a spade-shaped shield on the reverse, hence their sobriquet Spade-Guineas. I'm also a numismatist -- so this point stuck out for me. The book, of course, was still great fun. Thanks, Greg Cole

Hello Mr. Cornwell - I am a fan of the Sharpe series, and I just finished reading "Sharpes Prey", the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807. I noticed while on the ship, he broke open a bag of gold guineas with "the saint lancing the writhing dragon". I became curious and went searching for a picture of such a coin, and it appears they were not minted until 1817. There were some from the 15th century, but that seems very old. Are these guineas a fiction or did I miss something? Thanks - Paul Reiser

Dear Mr Cornwell, I have recently finished rereading Harlequin, and (being a traditional bowyer) your description and honour of the longbow is so accurate.(You have obviously done your homework) Which brings me to my question. Do/have you ever practised archery before? If not, I recomend it, the sport is very intriguing, personally I love the sight of a shaft and three feathers sticking out of the earth. -Amir

Sharpe's Escape. On page 300 Jack Bullen is 19 on page 309 he's 20! Quick birthday. Philip Knowles

Bernard Cornwell, Nice one! Spotted the C.S. Forester character running the wrong way during a French attack, leading to him being the 'green Englishman' in 'Death to the French', i.e. Matthew Dodd! What will you do next? Have (and love) all your books Tony Ingham

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I read all of your work. Most enjoyable. There is a slight historical error in the "Sharpe" books. You often refer to Irish horses & state they are from County Meath. There was no name of Meath as a county until after Irish indepedence in 1921. The county was Kings county up to then. I formed The Commonwealth Union Institute to provide an answer to the EU as all Eurosceptics are anti without having an option. But, it is hard work alone. If you can think of any ally that might assist I shall be grateful. See.. http://www.commonwealthunion.org/ Regards, Tony McArdle.

I started to read the Emperor series because I saw a quote from you on the back. I enjoyed it very much and wondered what other books you recommend. Thanks! Taylor

Hi : Nancy and I flew to Potters Bar to see you and hear your talk about you and your books. BB RR AA VV OO !! We were thrilled to listen your story about you and your wife. By the way I also have a Pacifist, Vegetarian,Yoga practising wife. Nancy and I cracked up laughing over that remark. We still start laughing when someone mentions any of the above. WE LOVE IT! Thanks again for giving Nancy and me one of the best times we have ever had. Oh, and thanks for signing my book. The poeple who ran that Napoleonic fair were just great to us. We plan on attending next year if you are there. Will you be? Thanks again . Sincerly, Joseph Bielawski...aka...Ancient mariner

First off this is a great website. I am a sharpe fan and am working through the collection currentley enjoying Sharpe's Havoc.. However to me your best books, which I think are the best books ever written, are the Warlord chronicles. I came across these in audio book form and they were wonderfully brought to life by Tim Piggot Smith, but they were the abridged version so I bought the books and read them and have done many times since. Although Arthur is the hero it is Dervel who I admire most, whilst Arthur struggles with oathes Dervel follows his heart. To me right or wrong these are the definitive Arthur tales and though this is probably not the way it happened it should have been. My other favourite books of yours are Stormchild, Tim Blackburn not your usual hero but a great one and Gallows Thief, Rider Sandman is a fantastic charcter and I hope you will write about him again. Thanks for taking the time to read this I appreciate it. Yours, Rob.

I made Sharpe's Escape last as long as I could, but I've finished it now. It was everything I'd hoped for and once again you have delighted me. I've now read all of the Sharpe series twice (well, Escape only once so far) and everything else you've written except the thrillers once. Now I have to decide which series to reread next while I wait for The Last Kingdom. I notice it only seems to have a UK release date, but I'll swim there to get it if I have to. Thank you again, sir. Daniel Thomas