[[quoteright:345:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BERNARD_CORNWELL_5640.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:345:If your History teacher wrote novels.]]
Bernard Cornwell (1944 - ) is a British author of HistoricalFiction, often about adventures in wartime.

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

Cornwell was adopted as a child by a strict Christian sect. He came to break all ties with them and took [[NomDeMom his mother's maiden name.]]

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.)

Cornwell was inspired by the 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 [[IncrediblyLamePun the rest is history.]] Two decades later, he's still at it, and has helped inspire other contemporary authors of historical fiction.

In 2005 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for his services to literature and furtherance of British culture abroad."

[[http://www.bernardcornwell.net/ Has a personal website]] with an active Q&A and bulletin board.

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!!Works by Cornwell include:

* ''{{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.
* ''TheWarlordChronicles'' -- [[{{Demythtification}} "realistic"]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane retelling]] of the KingArthur legends, set around the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the 5th century.
* ''Literature/TheGrailQuest'' -- a series set during The HundredYearsWar.
* ''TheSaxonStories'' -- a series set during the Danish invasion of Anglo-Saxon England.
* ''TheStarbuckChronicles'' -- set during the AmericanCivilWar.
* ''{{Azincourt}}'' -- set during The HundredYearsWar.
* ''{{Stonehenge}}'' -- set in prehistoric Britain.
* ''GallowsThief'' -- a murder mystery set shortly after the Napoleonic Wars.
* ''{{Redcoat}}'' -- set during the AmericanRevolution.
* ''TheFort'' -- set during the AmericanRevolution.
* ''A Crowning Mercy'', ''Fallen Angels'', and ''Coat of Arms'' -- an EnglishCivilWar trilogy co-written with his wife Judy, under the PenName "Susannah Kells".

!!These and other works provide examples of:

* AngloSaxons: Antagonists in ''The Warlord Chronicles'', protagonists in ''The Saxon Stories''.
* 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.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Since his novels are usually set around historical battles, like Waterloo or Agincourt, and his protagonists tend to be military types.
* TheCavalierYears
* CorruptChurch: Mainly as an institution, but also individual clergy and lay people, though there are decent ones too. Gets more noticeable with later-written works.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: A given considering historical fiction. In his first Saxon book, the protagonist (a Norseman) recalls raping women after raids.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Several.
** Those featured in the ''Sharpe'' books include TheDukeOfWellington, NapoleonBonaparte, Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane.
** 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.
** The ''Grail Quest'' series has Edward III of England and his son Edward the Black Prince.
** ''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.
** Derfel in ''The Warlord Chronicles'' is based on a possibly legendary saint by that name. The Saxon pioneer leaders in Britain like Aelle and Cerdic also feature.
* TheLateMiddleAges
* TheLowMiddleAges / TheDarkAges
* MarketBasedTitle:
** The first book in the ''Grail Quest'' trilogy, ''Harlequin'', became ''The Archer's Tale'' for the US market because of the [[RomanceNovel Harlequin Romance]] line.
** ''Azincourt'' (the original French name for the place) became ''Agincourt'' (how it's known in the English-speaking world) for the US market.
* OneMillionBC
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits
* RatedMForManly
* ShoutOut: Both to Cornwell's own work and to others.
** ''The Starbuck Chronicles'' features Sharpe's adult son.
** Thomas of Hookton from the ''Grail Quest'' series is mentioned in ''Azincourt'' as having died prosperous, "a lord of a thousand acres".
** 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 ''Death to the French'' (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.]]
* WarIsGlorious
* WarIsHell
* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: Whenever Sharpe gets on a boat.
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