Bernard Cornwell

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Bernard Cornwell

OBE
Bernard Cornwell.jpg
Cornwell in 2013
Born (1944-02-23) 23 February 1944 (age 80)
London, England
OccupationAuthor
Genre Historical fiction, historical non-fiction
Notable works The Saxon Stories
Sharpe
The Warlord Chronicles
Website
www.bernardcornwell.net

Bernard Cornwell OBE (born 23 February 1944) is a British-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written The Saxon Stories , a series of thirteen novels about the unification of England.

Contents

He has written historical novels primarily based on English history, in five series, and one series of contemporary thriller novels. A feature of his historical novels is an end note on how they match or differ from history, and what one might see at the modern sites of the events described. He wrote a nonfiction book on the battle of Waterloo, in addition to the fictional story of the famous battle in the Sharpe series. Three of the historical novel series have been adapted for television: the Sharpe television series by ITV, The Last Kingdom by BBC and The Winter King for MGM+. He lives in the US with his wife, alternating between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Charleston, South Carolina. [1]

Biography

Cornwell was born in London in 1944. His father was Canadian airman William Oughtred [1] and his mother was Englishwoman Dorothy Cornwell, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted and brought up in Thundersley, Essex, by the Wiggins family; they were members of the Peculiar People, a strict sect of pacifists who banned frivolity of all kinds, and even medicine up to 1930. Reacting to being raised by Christian Fundamentalists, he grew up rejecting all religions and became an atheist. [2]

After his adoptive father died, he changed his last name by deed poll from Wiggins to Cornwell, his birth mother's maiden name. Prior to that, he had used Bernard Cornwell as a pen name. [3] He met his father for the first time when he was 58, after telling a journalist on a book tour, "what I wanted to see in Vancouver was my real father." [1] There he met his half-siblings, with whom he shares many traits, and learned his genealogy. [3] He believes he is a descendant of Uhtred the Bold, upon whom he partly based the Saxon Stories book series. [4]

Cornwell was sent to Monkton Combe School in Somerset. He read history at University College London [5] between 1963 and 1966 [6] and worked as a teacher after graduating. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia.

Following his work as a teacher, Cornwell joined the BBC's Nationwide and was later promoted to head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News . [7]

His first marriage ended in divorce in the 1970s. [3] He met his second wife, Judy, in 1978 in Edinburgh while he was working for BBC Northern Ireland; she was a travel agent from the US and the mother of three children from a previous marriage. He relocated to the United States in 1979 after marrying her. He was unable to get a United States Permanent Resident Card (green card), so he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit. [1] He later became an American citizen. [3] [8]

Career

As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C. S. Forester which chronicled the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars. He was surprised to find that there were no army counterparts, so he wrote such a series himself—further motivated by the need to support himself through writing. As his chief protagonist he created a rifleman involved in most of the major battles of the Peninsular War, taking the character's name from rugby player Richard Sharp. [9] [10]

Cornwell originally planned to start the series with the Siege of Badajoz but decided instead to begin with a couple of "warm-up" novels. These were Sharpe's Eagle and Sharpe's Gold , both published in 1981. [11] He went on to tell the story of Badajoz in Sharpe's Company published in 1982. He had a seven-book deal with his publisher.

Cornwell and wife Judy co-wrote a series of novels published under the pseudonym "Susannah Kells": A Crowning Mercy published in 1983, Fallen Angels in 1984, and Coat of Arms (aka The Aristocrats) in 1986. Cornwell's strict Protestant upbringing forms the background of A Crowning Mercy, which takes place during the English Civil War. He also published Redcoat in 1987, an American Revolutionary War novel set in Philadelphia during its 1777 occupation by the British.

Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in making television adaptations of the first eight books of his Sharpe series. They asked him to write a background novel to give them a starting point to the series and also requested that the story featured a substantial role for Spanish characters in order to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe's Rifles , published in 1987 and set in the period of the English retreat at A Coruña. It resulted in a series of Sharpe television films starring Sean Bean. [12]

This was followed by a series of modern thrillers with sailing as a background and common themes: Wildtrack published in 1988, Sea Lord (or Killer's Wake) in 1989, Crackdown in 1990, Stormchild in 1991, and the political thriller Scoundrel in 1992.

Cornwell wrote two books a year for a long time, slowing to one per year in his sixties. [3] His idea of historical fiction is of presenting a "big story" in historical events and a "little story" in fictional plot. Patrick O'Brian, who wrote the Aubrey-Maturin series of historical adventures set in the Napoleonic era, said that there was "too much plot, not enough lifestyle" in the novels of Cornwell and C. S. Forester. Cornwell took that as a compliment and an accurate appraisal of the difference between the style of O'Brian and his own, while appreciating the association with Forester. [3]

With the success of the Sharpe series, Cornwell began to write about other periods and historical events in English and American history, both in series and in single novels. Azincourt was released in the UK in October 2008. The protagonist is an archer who participates in the Battle of Agincourt, a devastating defeat suffered by the French during the Hundred Years' War. In 2004, he released The Last Kingdom , beginning the Saxon Stories centered on protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg and telling how the nation of England began forming under King Alfred the Great. He realised that few in England knew how England began, unlike Americans who have a clear date for their nation's beginning—so this became his "big story". His own ancestral roots gave him the "little story" in the protagonist Uhtred. [3] [13] [14]

The Fort , published in 2010, is another of Cornwell's stand-alone novels. It tells of the Penobscot Expedition of 1779 during the American Revolutionary War.

Bernard Cornwell has been extremely successful in his writing career, selling 30 million books by 2015 throughout the various series and individual novels, and he continues to write new novels. [1]

Honours

Cornwell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours for services to literature and television production. [15]

Novel series

Sharpe stories

Cornwell's first series of historical novels features the adventures of Richard Sharpe, an English soldier during the Napoleonic Wars, in particular the Peninsular Wars once Arthur Wellesley was sent to lead the campaign against Napoleon's forces on the Iberian Peninsula. The first 11 books of the Sharpe series began with Sharpe's Rifles and ended with Sharpe's Waterloo, published in the US as Waterloo . These detail Sharpe's adventures in various Peninsular War campaigns over the course of seven years. Subsequently, Cornwell wrote Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph, Sharpe's Fortress, Sharpe's Trafalgar, and Sharpe's Prey, depicting Sharpe's earlier adventures under Wellington's command in India, including his hard-won promotion to the officer corps, his return to Britain, and his arrival in the 95th Rifles; he also wrote the sequel Sharpe's Devil, set six years after the end of the wars. Since 2003, he has written further "missing adventures" set during the Peninsular War era, based on major battles of that long campaign, for a total of 22 novels in this series. The Sharpe Appreciation Society has also published three short stories by Cornwell: "Sharpe's Skirmish", "Sharpe's Christmas" and "Sharpe's Ransom".

Cornwell mentions in notes at the end of the Sharpe series that he was initially dubious about the casting of Sean Bean for the television adaptations, but that the doubts did not last and he was subsequently so delighted that he dedicated Sharpe's Battle to him. He has admitted that he subtly changed the writing of the character to align with Bean's portrayal as now he "could not imagine Sharpe as anyone else". One of Cornwell's initial misgivings about Bean was that he did not physically resemble the black-haired Sharpe whom he described in the early books, but he thought that Bean understood and acted the part perfectly, and he subsequently refrained from mentioning Sharpe's hair colour. [16]

Warlord Chronicles

A trilogy depicting Arthurian Britain. The series posits 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. The author has often said that these are his own favourite stories; "I have to confess that of all the books I have written these three are my favourites." [17]

Grail Quest novels

This series deals with a mid-14th century search for the Holy Grail during the Hundred Years' War. Englishman Thomas of Hookton becomes drawn into the quest by a mysterious man called "The Harlequin", who murders Thomas's father in his search for the Grail. Cornwell was planning at one point to write more books about Thomas of Hookton and said that, shortly after finishing Heretic, the third novel in the series, he had "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 from him. Which doesn't mean I won't pick the idea up again sometime in the future." [18] He returned to the character in 1356 , published in 2012.

Saxon Stories/The Last Kingdom

The series focuses on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. The idea for the series took shape in his mind after meeting his real father in Canada in his fifties, learning his own ancestry back to that era, to the real-life Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who became Uhtred, the protagonist of the series. [13] Cornwell realised that most English people are unaware of how England came to be, rather than say, Dane-land, in that era of multiple peoples on the island of Great Britain. [1] Uhtred reluctantly helps Alfred the Great, a man he respects but dislikes, further his ambition of uniting all English speakers into a single kingdom. The series continues after the death of Alfred, with his heirs striving to achieve his dream. The first novel was published in 2004. In 2020, the 13th and final book was published. [19]

The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman were the basis for the first series of the television series, The Last Kingdom , while The Lords of the North and Sword Song were the basis for the second series. A third series, based on The Burning Land and Death of Kings, was released in November 2018, and a fourth series was released in April 2020. A fifth series was released on March 9 2022. [20]

Starbuck Chronicles

Four novels set during the American Civil War follow the adventures of Boston-born Nathaniel Starbuck during his service in the Confederate Army. The series is notable for an appearance by Richard Sharpe's son as a supporting character.

Thriller series

Cornwell's thriller series are modern mysteries, all with sailing themes. He is a traditional sailor and enjoys sailing his Cornish Crabber christened Royalist. According to Cornwell's website, there may be no additions to the series: "I enjoyed writing the thrillers, but suspect I am happier writing historical novels. I'm always delighted when people want more of the sailing books, but I'm not planning on writing any more, at least not now – but who knows? Perhaps when I retire". [21]

Nonfiction

In addition to his many novels, including a fictional account ( Sharpe's Waterloo ) of the battle of Waterloo, Cornwell published a nonfiction book, Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles , released in September 2014, in time for the 200th anniversary of that battle. [22]

Works

See also

Related Research Articles

Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of English soldier Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series featuring Sean Bean in the title role.

The Warlord Chronicles or The Warlord Trilogy is a series of three novels about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. The story is written as a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian legend. The books were originally published between 1995 and 1997 by Penguin and Michael Joseph in the United Kingdom and by St. Martin's Press in the United States. It has been adapted for television as The Winter King.

<i>Sharpe</i> (TV series) British television historical drama series (1993–2008)

Sharpe is a British television drama series starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, with Irish actor Daragh O'Malley playing his second in command, Patrick Harper. Sharpe and Harper are the heroes of the Sharpe series of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books. Produced by Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for the ITV network, the series was filmed mainly in Crimea, with recordings of other episodes in Turkey, England, Portugal and Spain. The two final episodes were filmed in Jaipur, India.

Uhtred is a masculine given name of Anglo-Saxon origin, prevalent during the Medieval period, with several recorded spelling variations. It may refer to:

The Saxon Stories is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the birth of England in the ninth and tenth centuries. The series consists of 13 novels. The protagonist of the series is Uhtred of Bebbanburg, born to a Saxon lord in Northumbria. He is captured as a child and raised by a Danish warlord. Uhtred, despite his inclination otherwise, repeatedly fights and schemes to bring about Alfred the Great's dream of uniting all English speakers in one realm over the course of a long life.

<i>Sharpes Eagle</i> 1981 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell

Sharpe's Eagle is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1981. The story is set in July 1809, in the midst of the Talavera Campaign during the Peninsular War. It was the first Sharpe novel published, but eighth in the series' chronological order.

Uhtred of Bamburgh, was ruler of Bamburgh and from 1006 to 1016 the ealdorman of Northumbria. He was the son of Waltheof I, ruler of Bamburgh (Bebbanburg), whose family the Eadwulfingas had ruled the surrounding region for over a century. Uhtred's death by assassination was described in De obsessione Dunelmi and has been interpreted as the beginning of a blood feud. Lest he be confused with Uhtred, the son of Eadwulf I of Bamburgh, he historically has been referred to as Uhtred the Bold.

<i>Sharpes Company</i> 1982 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell

Sharpe's Company is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1982. It was the third in the series to be published, but is thirteenth in chronological order. The story covers January to August 1812, featuring the Siege of Badajoz during the Peninsular War.

<i>The Last Kingdom</i> 2004 book by Bernard Cornwell

The Last Kingdom is the first historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2004. This story introduces Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon noble who is kidnapped by Danish Vikings as a young child and is assimilated into their culture, religion and language before a series of events lead him into the service of King Alfred of Wessex and his participation in multiple battles, including the notable Battle of Cynwit before the book's conclusion.

<i>Sharpes Christmas</i> (short story collection) 2003 short story collection by Bernard Cornwell

Sharpe's Christmas, is a short story collection by historical fiction author Bernard Cornwell which he began conceptualising in 1980s. It contains two stories featuring Cornwell's fictional hero Richard Sharpe. It was published by The Sharpe Appreciation Society in 2003 in order to raise funds for The Bernard and Judy Cornwell Foundation. This novel contains two stories that take place at different times, thus in an interview with the author, the book was left unnumbered in the Sharpe’s series.

George IV of the United Kingdom has been depicted many times in popular culture.

<i>The Burning Land</i> 2009 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell

The Burning Land is the fifth historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2009. The story is set in the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Wessex, Northumbria and Mercia. The first half of season 3 of the British television series The Last Kingdom is based on this novel.

<i>Death of Kings</i> 2011 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell

Death of Kings, published in 2011, is the sixth novel of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales series. It continues the story of Saxon warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg who resists a new Danish invasion of Wessex and Mercia.

Bernard Cornwell's career started in 1981 with Sharpe's Eagle. He has been a prolific historical novelist since then, having published more than 60 novels.

<i>The Pagan Lord</i> 2013 historical novel by Bernard Cornwell

The Pagan Lord is the seventh historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2013. The story is set in the early 10th century in Anglo-Saxon Mercia and Northumbria.

<i>The Last Kingdom</i> (TV series) British television series

The Last Kingdom is a British historical drama television series created and developed for television by Stephen Butchard, based on The Saxon Stories series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. The series premiered on 10 October 2015 on BBC Two. After co-producing the second series, Netflix acquired the series in 2018. The series concluded on 9 March 2022 after five series for a total of 46 episodes. A feature-length sequel that concluded the series story, titled Seven Kings Must Die, premiered on 14 April 2023 on Netflix.

<i>Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles</i> 2014 nonfiction history book by Bernard Cornwell

Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles is a history book written by Bernard Cornwell, first published in Great Britain by William Collins on 11 September 2014, and by Harper Collins Publishers on 5 May 2015 in the United States. It is Cornwell's first work of nonfiction, after publishing more than forty novels in the historical fiction genre, including the popular Richard Sharpe series taking place during the Napoleonic Wars. The book recounts the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, including preceding events from the campaign of the same name and The Hundred Days.

<i>The Flame Bearer</i> 2016 historical novel in The Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell

The Flame Bearer is the tenth historical novel in The Saxon Stories series, also known as The Last Kingdom series, by Bernard Cornwell, first published in October 2016. It is set in 10th-century England and continues to follow the fortunes of the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg. In this novel Uhtred sets out to finally regain his childhood home, Bebbanburg, which is now held by his cousin.

<i>Sword of Kings</i> 2019 book by Bernard Cornwell

Sword of Kings is the twelfth historical novel in The Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell. It was first published in October 2019.

<i>War Lord</i> (novel) 2020 novel by Bernard Cornwell

War Lord is the 13th and last novel in the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell. It was published on 15 October 2020 in the UK.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brown, Maggie (17 October 2015). "Bernard Cornwell: BBC made The Last Kingdom due to its 'interesting echoes of today'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Toby Harnden (15 September 2011). "A Page in the Life: Bernard Cornwell". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Harnden, Toby (15 September 2011). "A Page in the Life: Bernard Cornwell". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Bernard Cornwell Talks The Pagan Lord, The Challenges of Historical Fiction, And Future Plans | Emertainment Monthly". 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Bernard Cornwell: BBC made The Last Kingdom due to its 'interesting echoes of today'". The Guardian. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "Bernard Cornwell: Interview". The Bookseller. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Cornwell Biography". Bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Bernard Cornwell". Radio.nationalreview.com. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "About Sharpe". Yesterday. UK tv. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "A word from Bernard Cornwell". Southessex.co.uk. 29 September 2002. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Cornwell, Bernard (1994). Sharpe's Eagle. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. vi–vii. ISBN   978-0-00-780509-9.
  12. ↑ Cornwell, Bernard (1994). Sharpe's Rifles. London: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 7–9. ISBN   978-0-00-779651-9.
  13. 1 2 Lafferty, Hannah (31 January 2014). "Bernard Cornwell Talks The Pagan Lord, The Challenges of Historical Fiction, And Future Plans". Emertainment Monthly. Boston: Emerson College. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Warriors of the Storm". Kirkus Reviews. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "No. 58014". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2006. p. 24.
  16. ↑ "Richard Sharpe bio". The South Essex. Archived from the original on 16 September 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
  17. ↑ Cornwell, Bernard. "Cornwell's comment on The Arthur Books". Author's Official site. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  18. ↑ Cornwell, Bernard. "Cornwell's comment on Heretic". Author's Official site. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  19. ↑ "Bernard Cornwell on Facebook". Facebook . Archived from the original on 27 April 2022.[ user-generated source ]
  20. ↑ "'The Last Kingdom' Renewed for Season 5 by Netflix". 7 July 2020.
  21. ↑ "The Author's Official site – Sharpe Books dot com". Bernard Cornwell. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  22. ↑ Bernard Cornwell. "Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles". Fantastic Fiction. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
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