I don't read Cornwell's Sharpe's series and am only interested in reading books of his such as the Saxon Series, Stonehenge & the Warlord Chronicles. This is the first in the Grail Quest series. The other two are Vagabond and Heretic. Here in Australia, this book is published under the title 'Harlequin', in America, it is published under the title 'The Archer's Tale'. Harlequin moves into its conclusion after the siege of Caen with the English army successfully crossing the ford at Blanchetaque after a fierce fight, and then fighting the decisive battle at Crécy when the English longbow causes such devastation. As it descends into hand-to-hand fighting Thomas encounters Jekyll and The Harlequin on the battlefield and kills neither; Sir Guillaume tries to do the same and only manages to kill Jekyll, and The Harlequin escapes. Thomas manages to recover the Lance of St. George on the body strewn battlefield. Will Skeat - Thomas's friend and leader, a mercenary captain in the service of the Earl of Northampton Okay, so it's a good book but you need to be aware that this is not a happy fantasy. It's a book about war and all the pain that goes with that, especially when it's a war fought with pointy and edged things some of sharp steel either wielded by hand or attached to a yard long shaft of wood. Having been a big fan of historical fiction for as long as I can remember, I'm ashamed to admit this is my first Cornwell novel. Judging by how much I enjoyed Harlequin, it's definitely not going to be my last.

This book is about the Hundred Years War between King Edward III's England and France, and this tale is set in the Middle Ages, in the year AD 1342. He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News. He relocated to the United States in 1980 after marrying an American. Unable to get a green card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit. If you've read Cornwell's Saxon Stories then you're probably familiar with the formula. Intelligent soldier plays the hero, wins lots of battles, schemes, and has a slew of women on the side. The Archer's Tale mostly follows this formula as well. I haven't gotten deeply into any series by Mr. Cornwell since I went through a lot of the Sharpe books placed in/during the Napoleonic wars. These take place as the 100 Years War is getting under way.Thomas takes part in the successful assault on Caen. During the battle, he recognises the coat of arms of Sir Guillaume and wounds him. He also rescues a young woman named Eleanor from being raped. However, Jekyll sees him and has him hanged. Harley Quinn (full name: Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel), a fictional villain in the DC Comics universe Es curioso como la nobleza inglesa, descendiente de los normandos que conquis

I’m aware that Cornwell writes historical fiction; by the close of this book, I thought he’d pushed the fiction a little too far, forgetting the historical part. It’s nothing world-changing, but it’s competent and entertaining and I could probably read all of Cornwell’s oeuvre with nary a complaint.The crucial question - how much did Jonathan Keeble’s amazing narration contribute to my enjoyment of my previous Cornwell read, the Warlord Chronicles? The one exception to the complaint about characters is how good Cornwell always is at making you hate the antagonist. Sir Simon is a bully, a rapist, and quite stupid to boot.

Invigorating, fairly accurate for the times and gritty telling of the life of a medieval archer during the time of the Hundreds Year War (i.e. a name coined by historians much after the era).As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C.S. Forester, chronicling the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars, and was surprised to find there were no such novels following Lord Wellington's campaign on land. Motivated by the need to support himself in the U.S. through writing, Cornwell decided to write such a series. He named his chief protagonist Richard Sharpe, a rifleman involved in most major battles of the Peninsular War. It is now 1346 and Thomas has joined up with a band of archers in the employ of the Earl of Northampton sieging La Roche-Derrien. We are introduced a typical Cornwell heroine in the form of Jeanette, Countess d’Armorica, beautiful yet dangerous as she tries and protects her city. Eventually the English find their way in and Jeanette runs afoul of the knight Sir Simon Jekyll when she rejects his overtures of sex. Thomas is called to defend Jeanette and when he learns of the attempted rape he plans revenge on Jekyll, but fails, and so he must leave La Roche-Derrien if he wants to escape with his life. Jeanette - the daughter of a rich Breton merchant, widow of the Count of Armorica, Thomas's former lover

Like I said, it’s odd. Or rather, I’m odd. And I’m really liking this. It’s great Epic Fantasy, people… even if it is a meticulously researched and accurate accounting of ACTUAL HISTORY. That being said, the character development wasn't great, but the battle scenes were epic. This is the way History class should have been taught! Occasionally I come across a book that is so good that I have a hard time deciding if I want to continue reading it or put it down to extend the pleasure of reading it for another day. Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt was such a book and so is this.De forma paralela a los hechos históricos Cornwell nos presenta una historia bastante interesante donde aparece reliquias, griales, cátaros, venganzas familiares. Nos introduce en el día a día de la vida de un arquero inglés, con sus sufrimientos, su preparación, sus amoríos, sus rutinas, sus miedos, su desenfreno en el saqueo, su desempeño en el combate, su valor incalculable, que ellos conocían bien...... Este libro es un homenaje al arquero inglés. Pocas veces un arma ha marcado tanto la diferencia como lo hicieron los arqueros ingleses durante el siglo XIV. Ninguna defensa o armadura podía proteger al soldado o jinete enemigo. Ningún estado europeo podía oponer un cuerpo militar semejante, ya que sólo en Inglaterra y Gales se formaban los arqueros desde los 7-10 años de edad, condición necesaria para poder manejar un arco con solvencia. Las tristes ballestas no les llegaban a la suela del zapato, ni en alcance, ni en cadencia de tiro (7 flechas por cada dardo de ballesta). Tras el primer tiro, todos los ballesteros estaban muertos. Cuanto les costó aprender la lección a los franceses, casi les costó su propio país. Los arqueros eran odiados de tal modo que cuando uno de ellos caía prisionero, sus dedos eran cortados y eran torturados hasta la muerte, no había rescate posible.