Your Questions

Q

Hello Mr Cornwell
I have just finished reading the Harlequin, and I have spotted a mistake where you quote that the city of Rennes is on the river Seine. From my memory it is on the confluence of two rivers the Ille and the Vilaine.
Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as all the others books and they are numerous that have been written by yourself. At the moment I am looking forward to the next installment of the Warrior Chronicles.
Dave

A

Oh probably . . . forgive me if I don’t look it up, I’ll just plead guilty.

 


Q

The quote "everything ends in tears" comes from Excalibur, a day or so after the battle of Mynydd Baddon when Derfel meets up with Merlin and Taliesin.  "'Fate is inexorable,'  (Merlin) said sourly, 'and everything ends in tears.'"  My question is about the first part of the quote, which is not only one of Merlin's favorites, but is used in the Saxon stories.  Can you tell me when you first ran across this?
Bob Burton

A

That comes from an Anglo-Saxon poem, The Wanderer, where it appears as Wyrd bið ful aræd. It’s a sad poem about a man’s reflections on the world after he has lost his lord, and he’s in an extremely pessimistic mood. No one knows exactly when it was written. Memory tells me that the earliest copy is 10th Century, but it probably predates that by many years.


Q

If you could own one weapon that you have written about, what would you choose?

Also, what are you writing at the moment?
William

A

I already own it . . . above the fireplace hangs a 1796 pattern Heavy Cavalry sword, the same kind that Sharpe uses. I know very little about the sword, except that it must have been used in battle because the back blade has been ground down to a leaf point (permission for which was only given when the blade was to be used on active service).  I’d quite like to possess a Baker Rifle too, but lord knows if I’ll ever get round to looking . . .

 

Right now it's a book of non-fiction - The Battle of Waterloo.


Q

Hello Mr. Cornwell,

I know that you have said in the past that Uhtred is based on a real man that you are descended from. If I remember correctly, at the end of Agincourt you also stated that you are a relative of Sir John of Cornwaile. I'm just wondering if that would make, at least in the world you have created, Sir John a descendant of Uhtred?

Luke

A

John Cornwaille left no descendants, at least no legitimate ones, so I can’t think I claimed descent? Maybe I did in a rash moment! And I suspect he was of Norman descent, so alas, he’s not related to the Uhtreds!


Q

Dear Bernard
On the napoleon website, there is an interesting discussion on whether Wellington could have beaten Davout if they had ever faced each other and whether Suchet could have done better had been taken out of the Eastern theatre, I wondered what your own thoughts were on the subject? Do you think Davout could have bested Wellington and seeing as how Suchet lost at Castalla could he have done better than Soult in the main battles against Wellington or even Hill ?
Also will you ever visit Chester in the near future, when you visit the UK you only seem to do London, there are fans of your books in the north west too as well you know, besides the battle brunaburh was only round the corner on the wirral.
Yours sincerely
Geraint
P.S Dunno if you have read it or not but there is an excellent book called A bold and ambitious enterprise by Andrew Bamford on the British campaign in the Low Countries in 1813/14 commanded by Thomas Graham, which is worth a read especially since it's a campaign that has not been studied very much.

A

I have no idea! It’s one of those ‘what if’ questions. No one else managed to beat Wellington.  So my guess is that Wellington would have coped, he usually did!


Q

Bernard,
I Love it all, what's next?
Stewart O'Brien

 

A

The Pagan Lord has just been released in the UK.  It will be available in the US in January.  The book I'm writing now will be my first non-fiction book - the Battle of Waterloo.


Q

Will Thomas of Hookton story end with 1356? I hope not.  My next read will be The Fort or Stonehenge.

Michael Shaffer

A

I don't have plans for another story for Thomas now, but who knows?


Q

Good evening good sir!

I am curious which book you have published that has given you the largest monetary profit? I hope you don't see this as rude or intruding, I'm not asking an amount, just the title of the book that was responsible for it. I have always been very curious. Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Paul

A

I have no idea!  I could ask my agent, I suppose. I’d be tempted to answer that it was the three Arthurian books, but that’s just a wild guess.


Q

Hello Mr. Cornwell,

let me tell your I have read all your medieval novels, I loved them so much! I have a couple of questions... any chance you'll writing books about Nájera battle (1367) and the battle of  Verneuil (1424) ?

Regards from Colombia SouthAmerica.
Dany

A

I doubt I’ll ever tackle Najera, but I did visit Verneuil and that’s a battle which has always fascinated me; the second Agincourt, some folk call it, so it is a possibility!


Q

After reading most of the Sharpe books I came across the HERETIC book from the GRAIL QUEST series, . Myself and a colleague, both psychologists, have delved deeply into the myth and phenomenon of the story behind the double digit signal that many believe to stem from the period concerned in the series.  We have spent considerable time and effort reading the archival materials in both England and France and can find no materials concerning the purported origin that it came about during the war period between the two countries.  As such, we have nearly completed a document for presentation to a psychological association concerned with historically incorrect data, and for publication at a later date.  In the HERETIC book, mention is made on several separate occasions of this punishment (p. 17, p. 172, p. 331, p. 367 but I do not know if it is contained in others of the series.)  If you have any available first hand knowledge and information, from manuscripts,paintings, tapestries, etc., could you avail us with this knowledge.  If that is possible, we can withhold our presentation in order to conduct further research     and, if necessary, re-evaluate and rewrite our material.  Although we found no evidence supporting this behaviour, by the French, allusion is mentioned that sometimes a lord of a manor would perform this act to poachers killing his deer by the use of the bow and arrow.  However, that also may be a myth which needs to be destroyed as is the one concerning a recovered "lost" bird of prey being allowed to tear flesh from the breast of the falconer who allowed the bird to become lost.  I thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

David J. Cottrell.

A

As far as I know there isn’t any documentation. I talked with the wonderful Juliet Barker, who is a REAL historian and done immense work in the original archives, and who, of course, wrote Agincourt among other books, and she couldn’t substantiate the legend.  It has a ring of truth, which isn’t nearly enough for a proper historian, but is red meat to a novelist!  I hope you let me know when the paper is published!