Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell, OBEis an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. Cornwell has written historical novels primarily of English history in five series and one series of contemporary thriller novels. A feature of his historical novels is an end note on how the novel matches or differs from history, for the re-telling, and what you might see at the modern site of...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth23 February 1944
Research is a lifelong occupation so it's hard to factor it in, but I reckon most books take 5 months from start to finish.
Of course some days are easier than others, but my worst day is better than being in most humdrum occupations.
So far it's 43 books in 25 years.
Life is a jest of the Gods and there is no justice. You must learn to laugh… or else you'll weep yourself to death.
You'll call me a damned Jew, a Christ murderer, a secret worshipper of pigs and a kidnapper of christian children.' This was all said cheerfully. 'How absurd! Who would want to kidnap children, Christian or otherwise? Vile things. The only mercy of children is that they grow up, as my son has but then, tragically, they beget more children. We do not learn life's lessons.
Looking back, of course, it was irresponsible, mad, forlorn, idiotic, but if you don't take chances then you'll never have a winning hand, and I've no regrets.
I'm fortunate that the books sell, but even more fortunate to live in Chatham, to be very happily married and to have, on the whole, a fairly clear conscience.
I'll happily mentor anyone who wants mentoring, and most of that goes on by internet rather than face to face.
Television is a young person's medium.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the first book had not sold... doesn't bear thinking about, but I suppose we'd have made it work somehow.
At risk of sounding foully pompous I think that writers' groups are probably very useful at the beginning of a writing career.
A man does not see where he treads in battle, for he is watching the enemy...