Bernard Cornwell

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series, set during the Napoleonic Wars; the Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles, about the American Civil War; and the Warlord Trilogy, about Arthurian England. Cornwell lives with his wife Judy on Cape Cod. They met while he worked as a researcher for the BBC in Northern Ireland. Judy, an American, was unable to move to Britain for family reasons so Cornwell came to the States where he was refused a Green Card. He decided to earn a living by writing, a job that did not need a permit from the U.S. government. For some years he wanted to write the adventures of a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars - and so the Sharpe series was born. Bernard and Judy married in 1980, still live in the States, and he is still writing about Sharpe.

Cornwell was born in London in 1944–a war baby–whose father was a Canadian airman and mother a member of Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted by a family in Essex who belonged to a religious sect called the Peculiar People (and they were, said Cornwell), but eventually escaped to London University. After a stint as a teacher, he joined BBC Television where he worked for ten years.

“I don’t know if an author’s opinion on his own books means anything,” said Cornwell, “but I think the Warlord trilogy is the best thing I’ve written. I’d always been fascinated by the Arthurian legends and wanted to rework them, which is a daft thing to do because there’s an immense amount of hot competition out there. Undaunted, I decided to take the angle of trying to reconstruct an entirely believable 5th and 6th century background against which I could try to show the genesis of the Arthur stories–thus there is a sword, and there’s a stone, but the one ain’t in the other. It was enormous fun to write, and the books have outsold all my others in Britain and Europe. In the USA, as ever, they’ve succeeded about as well as a pregnant pole-vaulter. Oh well.”

For more personal insights check out the author’s website: www.bernardcornwell.net

Sharpe Series

Richard Sharpe is a Rifleman fighting for England against Napoleon’s forces throughout Europe. The series is listed by the chronology of the battles and events that take place in the stories, not in order by publication.

Sharpe’s Tiger (1997) **
Sharpe’s Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (1998)
Sharpe’s Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803 (1999)
Sharpe’s Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 (2000) *
Sharpe’s Prey: Richard Sharpe and the Expedition to Copenhagen, 1807 (2001) *
Sharpe’s Rifles: Richard Sharpe and the French invasion of Galicia, January 1809 (2001) V *
Sharpe’s Havoc: Richard Sharpe and the campaign in northern Portugal, Spring 1809 (2003) *
Sharpe’s Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign July 1809 (1981) V
Sharpe’s Gold: Richard Sharpe and the destruction of Almeida, August 1810 (1982) V *
Sharpe’s Battle: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro, May 1811 (1995) V
Sharpe’s Company: Richard Sharpe and the siege of Badajoz, January to April 1812 (1982) V
Sharpe’s Sword: Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign, June and July 1812 (1983) V
Sharpe’s Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the defense of Portugal, Christmas 1812 (1984) V *
Sharpe’s Honour: Richard Sharpe and the Vitoria Campaign, February to June, 1813 (1985) V
Sharpe’s Regiment: Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November 1813 (1986) V
Sharpe’s Siege: Richard Sharpe and the winter campaign, 1814 (1987) V *
Sharpe’s Revenge: Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814 (1989) V
Sharpe’s Devil: Richard Sharpe and the Emperor, 1820-1821 (1992) *

Starbuck Chronicles

With Nathaniel Starbuck, a Northerner in the Confederate Army, Cornwell brings a fresh spin to the war by peopling his story with Northerners serving the South, Southerners serving the North, spies, turncoats, and real historical figures.

Rebel (1993) *
Copperhead (1994) *
Battle Flag (1995) *
The Bloody Ground (1996) *

The Warlord Chronicles

In this Arthurian trilogy, narrated forcefully and with dry wit by Derfel Cadarn, one of Arthur’s warriors, who later becomes a monk, Cornwell’s Arthur is fierce, dedicated and complex, a man with many problems, most of his own making when his impulsive decisions sometimes have tragic ramifications.

The Winter King (1995)
Enemy of God (1996) *
Excalibur (1997) *

The Grail Quest Series

Set in the 14th century amid the 100 Years War, this series follows a brave, young archer, Thomas of Hookton, who sets out to avenge his family’s honor–and begins the quest for the Holy Grail.

The Archer’s Tale (2000) *
Vagabond (2002) LP
Heretic (2003) LP

Thrillers and Other Historical Fiction

Redcoat (1988)
Wildtrack (1988) *
Killer’s Wake (1989) *
Crackdown (1990) *
Stormchild (1991) *
Stonehenge, 2000 B.C. (2000)
Gallows Thief (2002)

Written with his wife under the name Susannah Kells

A Crowning Mercy (1983)
Fallen Angels (1984)
Aristocrats (1986)

 – available on audiobook
**– please request at Adult Information Services Desk
V– available on video
LP– available in Large Print

1/04 DD