Interesting short account of how the Sharpe series came to be written; how it began, evolved and how dome of the stories are based on actual history, others fiction and how some books were written out of order. Interesting. Also includes Cakes and Ale, which is about Bernard Cornwell's early years. ( )

Brief but enlightening ( )

In the main section of this book, Cornwell discusses the way he came to write the Sharpe novels.
Some interesting points arise together with extracts from the books,which is of less use to the reader who is no doubt already conversant with them.
In the brief second part,we learn about Cornwell's less than happy childhood,which again will be interesting to the enthusiastic Bernard Cornwell fan. ( )

Wonderful account of the creation and ongoing story of Richard Sharpe, truly one of the great inventions of historical fiction. The book is far too short to give a complete accounting, and I wish there were more about Cornwell's research in India, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain, but this is certainly better than nothing. Making the book seem shorter are the many passages quoted directly from the Sharpe books, the reader only needs those if they haven't read the Sharpe stories, but then they wouldn't be reading this book! I'd like to know much more about how Cornwell writes, but this will have to do for now.

The short autobiographical essay, Cakes and Ale concludes this little book, and I found it fascinating. I personally feel that Cornwell gets the nature vs. nurture argument wrong - but it's because he experienced no nurturing whatsoever from his adoptive parents who viewed him as a project to be completed, not as a child to be loved. Like Cornwell says, "some families work, others don't", and I think the difference between the two comes down to love. ( )

Interesting read chronicling Bernard Cornwell's start as an author, and specifically, as the author of the Sharpe series. He talks about what inspired him to write and where he went with the stories afterwards. I love the Sharpe stories, and was very happy to hear about their background! ( )