Your Questions

Dear Sir, I just wanted to thankyou for hours of terrific reading in the Sharpe series. I have finished the series and I am reading it again. Do you know of any other books that are like the Sharpe series but about a Frenchman? Thankyou again Sir, for the countless hours of enjoyment Sean Gooley

I'm looking forward to your new novel about England during the reign of Alfred the Great-a good period of history to write about. Have you considered a novel about William 1 and Harold 2 and the Battle of Hastings? Also, what about the Black hills war of 1876 in the U.S., as I think the great Sioux war leader, Crazy Horse, was one of the most admirable warriors in History. Hope I haven't given you too much work! Kindest regards, Paul.

Hello again, Mr. Cornwell. My question this time is concerning Sharpe's future adventures. Are you planning to write any more like Enemy and Siege, where the historical backdrop is ficticious? Or will they all be centered around real battles and sieges like Albuera and San Sebastian? Do you have plot ideas for Sharpe's future exploits worked out in your head now, or will you figure them out when you start writing about him again? Sincerely, Alan Kempner

Dear Mr.Cornwell, I chanced about 'Vagabond', wanted more, and drained amazon, as our bookstores keep only small stores of english books. I read, so far, several of the'Sharpe' series, looking forward to more. 'Gallow's Thief' was excellent, Rider Sandman certainly has potential, as others have remarked. I am currently 'living' in 'Heretic',and found one the few flaws that I could detect in your books so far:i.e.,making a longbow out of a green yew sapling, painting or laquering the bow to keep the sap in. UH-no. yew for longbows was cut only in winter, when the sap was down, then seasoned, after a rough shaping, the steps towards the final bow being made in a time schedule of 3 to 4 years, with sometimes a year between steps. I am not an archer, but an historically interested layman, but I bet no archer would have touched Thomas' concoction.Truly the devil's work. don't take me for a pedantic stickler, though, I greatly appreciate your generally thorough research ,the drawing of the characters as children of their, rather than our time,and especially the fighting scenes are so vivid, that they truly make one glad NOT to be there. Putting aside one of the rules you understandably (I am a lawyer)made, I could imagine reading a series about an Elizabethan pirate of your hand to be very enjoyable. Kind regards, Christian May

Mr. Cornwell, My parents and I love your work. They have read many of your books and I have read the Grail Quest series. From this series comes my question; In the third book, Heretic, Thomas gets a new bow. The thing about this is that he doesn't season the wood. I was wondering if you could provide me with some information on this because my father has been making his own bows for about 35 years now. Thank you for your time and keep up the good work. Andy

The first Cornwell classic that I read was Redcoat when I was about 11. Now, 15 years later I have recently finished Sharpe's Escape. The question that I have is this: Although the sands of time prevent further Starbuck volumes being written in the near future, have you had any thought of expanding the 'bridging' character of Colonel Patrick Lassan that connects the Sharpe series with the Starbuck chronicles. i.e/ he being the main charachter of the book. Interesting possibilities here, do you agree ? Gavin Collinson

When did British officers' commissions become earned not bought? Guy E. Orr

Hi, I read a lot of books at the moment and you are probably one of my favourite authors. I've read all your different series and I must admit that my least favoruite series is the Sharpe series. I think this is probably because there has been so many of them. I was wondering if you ever get bored of writing them? Also is it easier to write a novel where you already have an established audience? That said I am looking forward to your new series and the first chapter that I have read on your website makes the book look like it could be a classic to rival the Arthur books. Don't give up writing the new books! Jim White

Thank you very much for replying to my previous letter Mr. Cornwell. I really appreciate that you would take time out for that. Since I harbour somewhat farfetched dreams about writing, I was wondering: how do you find out such minute details about events that occured centuries ago? How exactly do you go about researching historical novels? Such 'minor' details make all the difference, yet they must be so hard to uncover. I image it helps if you live in Europe to start with. -Stuart, BC, Canada PS- My further thanks to you, for proving that historical novels can in fact do well!

Mr. Cornwell, I have recently become a fan of your work and thoroughly enjoyed the 100 years war trilogy. I currently devouring the Sharpe series. I was wondering if you know of similar works regarding African mercenaries or the African civil wars of the mid 1900's. I just finished The Dogs of War (forsyth) and it has created some interest in these events. Sean Frick

Ok, you've probably heard this before, and for that I apologize, but I just have to get it out of my system. I'm afraid you have lit a fire under me. After reading many of your Sharpe novels I became curious as to what happen to the 95th Rifles. It appears they were disbanded in the late fifties only to be resurected later and rolled into what they now call the "Royal Green Jackets". I was thrilled to find out that this unit still exsisted. Being a member of one of, if not the, oldest regiments in the American Army National Guard, (1st Viginia Regiment) I cannot help but be drawn to the history of others. When I found out that this unit still existed my mind started working, completely on its own mind you. I started what "ifing" as they say. As in, what if the great, great, great grandson of Richard Sharpe had decided to follow in his famous grandfather's footsteps and join the Royal Green Jackets, and found himself here in Iraq today. What if he had done it years ago, and found hinself in places like the Faulklands, and Kosovo. The range is unlimited. I would never try to tell you how to write your books but, what if? Would you ever consider the idea? P.S. I apologize for my butchery of the english language. As Henry Higgins said, "The Americans haven't used it in years". So we're a little rusty at it. Thank you. SSG Don Sawyer