Bernard Cornwell's Blog

2024 is going to be the first year since 1980 that there will be no new
Cornwell book delivered to my publisher. I am deeply sorry for that, and for
those of you who were looking forward to Sharpe’s Storm I want to provide a
brief explanation.

2024 has been a year from hell. I won’t go into detail, but just say there
have been too many surgical procedures, chemotherapy sessions, dentists and
hospital visits, and those things play merry hell with a writing schedule.
Nevertheless I had finished about two thirds of the book by July when it all
came to a screeching halt because of the Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival. I had
agreed to play Prospero in The Tempest and a much smaller role in Romeo and
Juliet. I knew, because I first played Prospero in 2016, that the role would
take an immense amount of time; the part is long and not easy. I made an
admittedly feeble effort to refuse and give the role to one of our professional
actors, but the feeble effort was rejected and I had to first relearn the part and
then give up day after day in rehearsals. I don’t regret it because I revel in
being a member of a company composed of enthusiastic and talented young
people (the pic shows me as Prospero and the incredibly talented Sadie O’Conor playing Ariel), but that indulgence meant more time lost. Also it was high summer
which means the boat must be given time too, and so she was (Seraph, it’s an anagram!). I would also like to add that I am now 80 years old and, as the great George MacDonald
Fraser once remarked to me, ‘you slow down at eighty.’ I have.

Sharpe’s Storm was still on track for completion. I needed to write
about five more chapters and all the necessary research was done, but then I
hit a road-block. I knew the events of Storm fell between Regiment and Siege
and, reluctant as I am to re-read my books, I did glance through Sharpe’s Siege
to check some facts and, to my horror, realised that the grand finale I had
planned for Sharpe in Storm was impossible, because it would overlap with
events in Siege. He might be a peerless hero, but even Sharpe cannot be in two
places at once. Normally I would have consulted my extraordinary editor at
HarperCollins to ask whether I could get away with it, but Susan had just
unexpectedly and tragically died, and I was left to conclude that she would
have brusquely told me not to be an idiot and find another solution.
I’m happy to say that I have found a solution which will make Storm a
much better book, but that solution demands intensive research, new chapters
and a monumental rewrite of the existing chapters. Sharpe will be freed of the
two-body problem, and all will be well, but it cannot be well in time for
delivery and publication this year. For that I am sincerely sorry. I like the
book, such as it is, and it certainly puts Sharpe through a monstrous ordeal, but
it must wait for 2025 during which I promise to refuse any major
Shakespearian role and will do my utmost to avoid doctors and, especially, dentists.

 I received tragic news this week – of the death of Susan Watt, who has been my editor and publisher at HarperCollins since the very first Sharpe book – Sharpe’s Eagle – way back in 1980.
      Susan was a huge supporter of Sharpe and a brilliant publisher. She had enthusiasm, energy, and a deep care for both Sharpe and his creator.  She accompanied me on many visits to Wellington’s battlefields where her pointed questions forced me to think more deeply about what had happened there. Thus, in Seringapatam, she challenged the accounts of the Tippoo Sultan’s death and made me realise that the spot marked for that event was in the wrong place. Susan became a dear friend to Judy and myself and we will miss her laughter, her hospitality and her endless ungrudging support.  Sharpe will continue without her, but she will be forever missed.

Our third season of Free Shakespeare begins 22 July 2024. Held outdoors in the beautiful Kate Gould Park, Main Street, Chatham MA USA. Plays start at 7pm. For more information: /https://ccsfc.org/

The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival in Chatham

ONE SESSION: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Monday June 3 

The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival in Chatham is heading into its third season in Kate Gould Park this summer, featuring the world’s most enduring love story, ROMEO AND JULIET, and one of the most magical comedies, THE TEMPEST.  The company with include many of the Festival’s favorite actors from past seasons, along with exciting new talent.  The trio of Alan Rust, Terry Layman and Bernard Cornwell will go behind the scenes, sharing their backstage preparations and skills needed to produce the Festival, which has already become a beloved Chatham summer tradition.

Alan Rust is a professional actor and theatre educator.  He was artistic director of the Monomoy Theatre in Chatham for 39 years, directing and acting in many of the 300 productions under his leadership.

Terry Layman has acted On Broadway, Off -Broadway, and at theatres from Florida to Alaska. He has also appeared on both daytime and nighttime TV shows. He acted and directed at the Monomoy Theatre in Chatham for 20 summers. Bernard Cornwell appeared on the Monomoy Theatre stage in Chatham for over a decade. Born in London, he had a career in British television. He began writing and is now the author of over fifty novels. He performed a cameo role in the third season of The Last Kingdom,​a Netflix Original series based on his books.

Registration is required.   To register online and donate by credit card or Paypal, click here. If you prefer to donate by check and to either mail in or drop off your registration at the library, please click here to get the registration form.  There are no refunds unless the course is cancelled.

All courses will take place at the Eldredge Public Library.

For further information contact the committee at [email protected] or call the library at 508 945 5170

This is a recent interview with Max Williams of Square Mile:

https://squaremile.com/culture/books/bernard-cornwell-author-interview/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-631-bernard-cornwell-on-uhtreds-feast/id1452065072?i=1000635317545

On November 2, as part of the Charleston Literary Festival, Bernard Cornwell and Southern culinary talent Suzanne Pollak will bring the recipe-filled book, Uhtred’s Feast, to life with an exclusive Gothic dinner at the Garden & Gun offices, 701 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC. Join us at this Charleston Literary Festival Feast!

Ticket information: https://www.citypapertickets.com/events/141680485/charleston-literary-festival-presents-uhtreds-literary-feast

Please join us for our Second Annual Authors Night. We have an amazing group of Cape Authors presenting this year including Nantucket children’s author, Wendy Rouillard, of Barnaby Bear fame, our own Anne LeClaire from South Chatham, author of over a dozen works of fiction, and historical novelist, Bernard Cornwell, Chatham writer extraordinaire.  The event is being held at the Chatham Community Center from 3.00 to 5.00 on Sunday 1 October 2023. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at the South Chatham Library, 2559 Main Street, South Chatham. The Library is open Tues. & Sat. from 1.00 – 4.00pm. Tickets are also available at the door, but a telephone reservation will be necessary ahead of time to hold your spot. Please call 540-520-4213 and let us know by leaving a message with your name, email, and/or telephone number and number of tickets you’ll be purchasing at the door.

The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival in Chatham is returning to Kate Gould Park for a second season! Two beloved Shakespeare plays Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It will be presented this year from 24 July to 3 August, Monday thru Thursday and Saturday. The performances are free! The plays begin at 7pm. I play Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing and Jaques in As You Like It. Bring your folding chairs and blankets and enjoy an evening of Shakespeare’s best comedies! More info: https://ccsfc.org/2023-season.html