Bernard Cornwell...where do I start?

[Briffault]

I've heard a lot about this fellow and I LOVE medieval history, namely it's warfare along with the strategy and tactics. I'm new to this gent's books so I was wondering where I should start. I saw several of his books in at the book store and I would really hate to accidentally run into a love story, lol. I'm a guy after all.

 

[753C]

I would highly recommend one of two series to start. Either The Grail Quest series, which starts with "The Archers Tale". I think in the UK this one was titled "Harlequin".

My favorites are the Saxon series which starts with "The Last Kingdom".

I've read most of his stuff and these two series really stand out. He did also wrote an Arthur series called "The Warlord Chronicles", which starts with "The Winter King". This series was pretty good too.

You get lots of well described war with Cornwell, and a lively story with characters that run the gamut from love-able to I can't wait for someone to cut your head off. :lol:

 

[Briffault]

Awesome, those are the ones I was looking at. Thanks a ton for your help!

 

[Meadow337]

oh my giddy aunt how you can you discuss Bernard Cornwall and not discuss his greatest series Richard Sharpe?

There are 24 books in the Sharpe Series:

01 Sharpe's Tiger
Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799 (1997)

02 Sharpe's Triumph
Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (1998)

03 Sharpe's Fortress
Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803 (1999)

04 Sharpe's Trafalgar Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, October 1805 (2000)

05 Sharpe's Prey
Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Copenhagen, 1807 (2001)

06 Sharpe's Rifles
Richard Sharpe and the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809 (1988)

07 Sharpe's Havoc
Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in Northern Portugal, Spring 1809 (2003)

08 Sharpe's Eagle
Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809 (1981)

09 Sharpe's Gold
Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810 (1981)

10 Sharpe's Escape
Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Bussaco, September 1810 (2004)

11 Sharpe's Fury
Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Barrosa (March 1811), Winter 1811 (2007)

12 Sharpe's Battle
Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, May 1811 (1995)

13 Sharpe's Company
Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Badajoz, January to April 1812 (1982)

14 Sharpe's Sword
Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign, June and July 1812 (1983)

15 Sharpe's Skirmish
Richard Sharpe and the Defence of the Tormes, August 1812 (short story) (1999) (revised extended edition published 2002)

16 Sharpe's Enemy
Richard Sharpe and the Defence of Portugal, Christmas 1812 (1984)

17 Sharpe's Honour
Richard Sharpe and the Vitoria Campaign, February to June 1813 (1985)

18 Sharpe's Regiment
Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November 1813 (1986)

19 Sharpe's Christmas
December 1813, Franco-Spanish border (short story) (1994) (revised edition published 2003)

20 Sharpe's Siege
Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814 (1987)

21 Sharpe's Revenge
Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814 (1989)

22 Sharpe's Waterloo
Richard Sharpe and the Waterloo Campaign, 15 June to 18 June 1815 (1990)

23 Sharpe's Ransom
December 1815, Normandy (short story) (1994) (revised edition published 2003)

24 Sharpe's Devil
Richard Sharpe and the Emperor, 1820–21 (1992)

He also wrote a wonderful collection of thrillers:

Wildtrack (1988)
Sea Lord (aka Killer's Wake) (1989)
Crackdown (1990)
Stormchild (1991)
Scoundrel (1992)

which are all set in the world of sailing.

And the three books he co-wrote with his wife are also excellent historical adventures:

A Crowning Mercy (1983)
Fallen Angels (1984)
Coat of Arms (aka The Aristocrats) (1986)

I have not yet read his other series.

 

[753C]

Hey Meadow, the Sharpes books are great. Only reason I didn't mention them is because the OP was looking for medieval historical fiction.
Also, I just saw that Cornwell brought back Thomas of Hookton (the main character from The Archer's Tale) in a new book called "1356" subtitled "Go with God, fight like the devil."
I will be picking that one up pretty much immediately.

 

[Meadow337]

oh lol different interpretations. I read it as saying "what about Bernard Cornwall?" and had only seen his medieval books, when there is so much more of him to discover.

 

[Hartman3216]

Yeah I just started the Saxon Tales and they are awesome! My buddy read all of them and is now reading the Arther series.

 

[JGL]

I love the Sharpe series too. Some of my best memories of college involve cuddling up in a chair in a Barnes and Nobles and reading Sharpe and Harper go at it. I probably read three fourths of the series in the store. I always felt like a punk for not buying the book, but hey, when you're a poor struggling college kid, you make do.

I'm thinking about jumping into the Saxon series sometime in the near future. Somehow I wound up with a copy of Lords of the North but not The Last Kingdom. I'm going to have to go back and grab it. I wonder if it's discounted on Kindle...