Dear Mr. Cornwell,

My name is Alex, I live in Spain and I am Italian.

I really like how you write. Now, I am reading Azincourt and it’s a pure pleasure.

I usually don’t read novels/fictional works. I read a lot of classical literature until when I was 21. After that (now I am 38) I usually read non-fiction (medicine, biology, history, art, science, economics, etc.). I did that because I felt a bit stupid reading fictional works. I don’t want to seem rude, but this is how I felt it. I don’t mean that I consider to be stupid people who read fiction. Not at all. What I mean, is that I am so ignorant, that when I read I want to learn something.

Anyway some months ago I decided to change this a bit and I started reading fictional works. Last year I published two non-fiction books. One of them was an essay about our society (I published it in Italian and I translated them into Spanish ). For this essay I did a lot of research work and I read many books which were not my main interest. Now, I need a bit of rest from “bad things”, such  as bad medicine, injustice in the society, etc. and therefore I decided to read for the pure pleasure of reading.

Besides, when I read your books I can also learn many things, I can expand my English vocabulary, I can learn/see how one writes in good English.

I want to tell you my story with your books. I read the first book of yours more than 20 years ago when I was a teenager.  I went to a big supermarket with my mum and when we were waiting at the cash register we saw your books of the series  The Warlord Chronicles (Il romanzo di Excalibur in Italian). My mum asked me if I wanted the first book. I nod and so, every two weeks she bought me one of the fives tomes (in Italian the books are 5 instead of 3). I spent a beautiful summer reading those books. I still have them in one of my bookshelves here in Spain. I didn’t know who Bernard Cornwell was, and actually I didn’t care much. At the time I was only captured by the beautiful stories. Besides, in the mid 90s I hadn’t never used the Internet yet.

More than 20 years passed and last year I read your non-fiction book about Waterloo. I wanted to read a book about this battle and I found yours very interesting.  So, I chanced upon your name again and I remembered it from my youth. I did a research about you and I decided to start reading your books. Actually, I didn’t know if I liked them. When I read your first books I was a teenager and I read the translation in Italian. Now, I only read in the original language (when I know it). I am a linguist (freelance translator and proofreader) and I thought that maybe now I could have a different taste or see things in a different way.

I bought several books form different authors to see how they write and if I like them.  I bought the Trilogy on Scipio Africanus by Santiago Posteguillo in Spanish, the first tome of Fantômas in French, The daughter of Time in English, The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez Reverte in Spanish  and your Azincourt in English. I am reading it and I find it wonderful.

I can say that I am really a fan of yours. I had a great pleasure when I read The Warlord Chronicles in Italian in my teenage years, but now that I am reading Azincourt in English the pleasure is even bigger. I thank you for that.

Today I bought Gallows Thief and Sharp’es Tiger and I think that many others will follow.

Thank you again for these beautiful books.

Kind regards,

Alex Tonus