Dear Mr Cornwell,
I’m a recent convert to your novels, along with my 14 year old son, though my step-dad’s been reading your books for decades! I’m intrigued by one particular aspect of your approach to writing, especially on a subject that is over a thousand years old; do you visit all the places mentioned in your novels? I’ve assumed this would be essential to get a feel, or resonance, for the place and your descriptions are so evocative. Yet many of the places have changed hugely. Does the historical & archaeological research you do then colour your interpretation of the places or are they pretty much formed in your mind from visiting them?
All the best & thank you for getting folk of all ages interested in History (yes I’m a History teacher!)
Geoff Bennett