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Bernard Cornwell

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Bernard Cornwell
Born (1944-02-23) 23 February 1944 (age 80)
London, England
OccupationWriter
NationalityBritish
GenreHistorical fiction
Website
Bernard Cornwell
(Official Website)

Bernard Cornwell OBE (born February 23, 1944) is a prolific and popular English historical novelist. As a child he was adopted by a family by the name of Wiggins. After he left them he changed his name to his mother's maiden name, Cornwell.

Cornwell was born in London in 1944. His father was a Canadian airman. His mother was English, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted and brought up in Essex by the Wiggins family, who were members of the Peculiar People, a strict Protestant sect who banned frivolity of all kinds and even medicine. Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked for BBC Television as a director. He married an American, Judy, in 1980 and relocated to the U.S.. Unable to get a Green Card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit.

In June 2006, Cornwell was awarded an OBE (Officer, Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours List.[1]

Series

The Sharpe series (in historical date order)

Cornwell's best known books feature the adventures of Richard Sharpe, an English soldier, and are set in the Napoleonic era. After writing 12 books detailing adventures set around various European campaigns over the course of 12 years, further stories covered Sharpe's earlier years as a young soldier in India. Most of the Napoleonic era books were filmed for a television series starring Sean Bean as Sharpe. Cornwell reportedly was unimpressed by Bean's casting, but was won over by his performances to the point of dedicating a subsequent Sharpe novel to him. Further books written subsequently have been slotted into different parts of Sharpe's timeframe.

Some Sharpe books have been adapted to become TV movies, but the adaptations are often only loosely based on the book they are named for.

Main article: Sharpe (TV series)

The Starbuck Chronicles

Main article: The Starbuck Chronicles

This tetralogy is set during the American Civil War. The title character, Nathaniel Starbuck, is a Northerner who has decided to fight for the South. He eventually becomes the commander of a Southern regiment, the Faulconer Legion.

  1. "Rebel" (1993) - The Battle of Bull Run
  2. "Copperhead" (1993) -
  3. "Battle Flag" (1995)-The Second Battle of Bull Run
  4. "The Bloody Ground" (1996) - The Battle of Antietam

The Warlord Chronicles

Main article: The Warlord Chronicles

This trilogy deals with Arthurian Britain. Like other "historical" takes on the Arthurian legends, the series postulates that Post-Roman Britain was a difficult time for the native Britons, being threatened by invasion from the Anglo-Saxons in the East and raids from the Irish in the West. At the same time, they suffered internal power struggles between their petty kingdoms and friction between the old Druidic religion and newly arrived Christianity. Once upon a time, in a land that was called Britain, these things happened . . . ." well, maybe. The Warlord Trilogy is my attempt to tell the story of Arthur, 'Rex Quondam Rexque Futurus', the Once and Future King, although I doubt he ever was a king. I suspect he was a great warlord of the sixth century. Nennius, who was one of the earliest historians to mention Arthur, calls him the 'dux bellorum' - leader of battles or warlord. I have to confess that of all the books I have written these three are my favourites. [1]

  1. "The Winter King" (1995)
  2. "Enemy of God" (1996)
  3. "Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur" (1997)

The Grail Quest novels

Main article: The Grail Quest

This trilogy deals with a mid-14th century search for the Holy Grail, around the time of the Hundred Years' War. Cornwell was planning at one point writing more books about the main character Thomas of Hookton and said that shortly after finishing Heretic he "have started another Thomas of Hookton book, then stopped it - mainly because I felt that his story ended in Heretic and I was just trying to get too much for him. Which doesn't mean I won't pick the idea up again sometime in the future." [2]

  1. "Harlequin" (re-named The Archer's Tale in the USA) (2000) — Battle of Crécy
  2. "Vagabond" (2002) — Battle of Neville's Cross, Battle of La Roche-Derrien
  3. "Heretic" (2003) — Siege of Calais

The Saxon Stories

Main article: The Saxon Stories

Cornwell's latest series – The Saxon Stories – is set in 9th century England and focuses on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex during the reign of Alfred the Great, and deals with his opposition to the Danes (Vikings), becoming as a result the only English monarch to be awarded the epithet "the Great" by his people. According to Cornwell's replies on his website bulletin board, the series will not be a trilogy like his other medieval works, but will have 3 or 4 more sequels: "I'm not sure how many there will be - perhaps seven? maybe eight?" [2]

  1. The Last Kingdom (2004)
  2. The Pale Horseman (2005)
  3. The Lords of the North (2006)
  4. Sword Song (2007) (Due in the US in January of 2008)

Crowning Mercy

  1. "A Crowning Mercy" (1983)
  2. "Fallen Angels" (1984)
  3. "Coat of Arms" (The Aristocrats)(1986)

Co-written with Judy Cornwell under the pseudonym Susannah Kells

The Thrillers

  • "Wildtrack"
  • "Sea Lord" (aka "Killer's Wake")
  • "Crackdown"
  • "Stormchild"
  • "Scoundrel"

*These books, all contemporary thrillers, are unrelated between themselves, but all have sailing as a background and common theme.

Other novels

See also

Sharpe (TV Series)

References

  1. ^ "Diplomatic Service and Overseas List" (PDF). honours.gov.uk. 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  2. ^ Author's Official Site
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