History Creator / BernardCornwell

** ''Azincourt'' has HenryV of England. The protagonist Nicholas Hook is named after a real archer from the English muster rolls for the Battle of Agincourt. BoisterousBruiser Sir John Cornewaille is also real, but Cornwell denies any relation.

** This carries over into TheSaxonStories where the various Danish ships, their construction and maintenance are extensively - though never boringly - described.

* ShoutOut: He and Richard Sharpe are also the frequent subject of this (see ReferencedBy/Sharpe), but examples in his own work include:

* ShoutOut:

* ShoutOut: Both to Cornwell's own work and to others.
** ''The Starbuck Chronicles'' features Sharpe's adult son.

** The protagonist of ''Gallows Thief'' is a retired cavalryman who was once saved by a Rifle officer and his men.
** Rifleman Dodd is ''Sharpe's Escape'' is meant to be Matthew Dodd from Literature/DeathtotheFrench'' (itself better known as ''Rifleman Dodd'' [[MarketBasedTitle to Americans]]) by C.S. Forester.
** Richard Sharpe is named after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sharp a rugby player.]]

Bernard Cornwell (1944 - ) is a British author of HistoricalFiction, often about adventures in wartime.

* AuthorAppeal: Aside from the war stuff, Cornwell has also written contemporary thrillers revolving around sailing - the only non-historical fiction stuff he's done. [[WriteWhatYouKnow He's an avid sailor and owns his own boat.]]

* {{Badass}}
** BadassCrew: Most prominently Sharpe's Rifles, but his other heroes also tend to get their own crews.

* ''TheStarbuckChronicles'' -- set during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.

* ''{{Stonehenge}}'' -- set in prehistoric Britain.
* ''GallowsThief'' -- a murder mystery set shortly after the Napoleonic Wars.
* ''{{Redcoat}}'' -- set during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution.

* ''A Crowning Mercy'', ''Fallen Angels'', and ''Coat of Arms'' -- an EnglishCivilWar trilogy co-written with his wife Judy, under the PenName "Susannah Kells".

* ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'' -- [[{{Demythtification}} "realistic"]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane retelling]] of the KingArthur legends, set around the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the 5th century.

* CreatorProvincialism: Shows in the full title of his 2014 non-fiction book ''Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles''[[note]] meaning the battles of Ligny (Napoleon against Blücher, June 16), Quatre Bras (Wellington against Ney, June 16), and Waterloo (Napoleon against Wellington and Blücher)[[/note]]'', which ignores the battle of Wavre (Thielmann's Prussian corps versus Grouchy's army, June 18-19) and also ignores the numerous battles, skirmishes and sieges -- for the most part fought by the Prussians -- that followed until the Allies arrived before the gates of Paris at the beginning of July 1815.

* CreatorProvincialism: Shows in the full title of his 2014 non-fiction book ''Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles'', which dismisses the battle of Wavre (Thielmann's Prussian corps versus Grouchy's army, June 18-19) as insignificant and also ignores the numerous battles, skirmishes and sieges -- for the most part fought by the Prussians -- that followed until the Allies arrived before the gates of Paris at the beginning of July 1815.

* ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' -- follows the career of a soldier in the [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars Peninsular War]] and beyond, up to Waterloo. After this, prequel novels covering the Anglo-Indian Wars and other conflicts were written, as well as more novels set during the Peninsular War.

* ''Literature/TheSaxonStories'' -- a series set during the Danish invasion of Anglo-Saxon England.

He is most famous for the ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' novels, chiefly set during the NapoleonicWars, which were adapted into a television movie series starring Creator/SeanBean as Richard Sharpe.

* ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' -- follows the career of a soldier in the [[NapoleonicWars Peninsular War]] and beyond, up to Waterloo. After this, prequel novels covering the Anglo-Indian Wars and other conflicts were written, as well as more novels set during the Peninsular War.

** Those featured in the ''Sharpe'' books include UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane.

* ''Literature/TheGrailQuest'' -- a series set during The HundredYearsWar.

* ''Literature/{{Azincourt}}'' -- set during TheThe HundredYearsWar.

** The ''Saxon Stories'' feature [[AlfredTheGreat Alfred the Great]] of England. The protagonist Uhtred is named after a real Uhtred of Bebbanburg who Cornwell claims to be descended from.

Cornwell was inspired by the Literature/HoratioHornblower naval novels of C.S. Forester and decided to write stuff like that about the army. His first novel, ''Sharpe's Eagle'', was published in 1981 and the rest is history. Two decades later, he's still at it, and has helped inspire other contemporary authors of historical fiction.

** Those featured in the ''Sharpe'' books include TheDukeOfWellington, NapoleonBonaparte, Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane.

He is most famous for the Literature/{{Sharpe}} novels, chiefly set during the NapoleonicWars, which were adapted into a television movie series starring Creator/SeanBean as Richard Sharpe.

* AngloSaxons: Antagonists in ''The Warlord Chronicles'', protagonists in ''The Saxon Stories''.

* The McGuffin: The holy Banner of Santiago, the oriflamme flag dating from the Reconquest, which is to be used as a symbolic rallying point for Spanish resitance to Napoleon. Everybody wants it - except Sharpe.

He is most famous for the Literature/{{Sharpe}} novels, chiefly set during the NapoleonicWars, which were adapted into a television movie series starring Creator/SeanBean as Lt. Richard Sharpe.

He worked for the {{BBC}} and other broadcast news media before becoming a novelist. He started writing fiction because he'd moved to the United States with his American wife and he couldn't get a Green Card at the time - writing required no work permits. (He's a U.S. citizen now.)

** Rifleman Dodd is ''Sharpe's Escape'' is meant to be Matthew Dodd from ''Death to the French'' (itself better known as ''Rifleman Dodd'' [[MarketBasedTitle to Americans]]) by C.S. Forester.