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Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.

Bernard Cornwell

I’m fortunate that the books sell, but even more fortunate to live in Chatham, to be very happily married and to have, on the whole, a fairly clear conscience.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Clear Happily Married
We make children and wealth and amass land and build halls and assemble armies and give great feasts, but only one thing survives us. Reputation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Amass Army Children Feasts Land
And yes, there’s a simplicity to writing books because you’re not a member of a team, so you make all the decisions yourself instead of deferring to a committee.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Decision Team Writing
Research is a lifelong occupation so it’s hard to factor it in, but I reckon most books take 5 months from start to finish.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Finish Months Research
Every day is ordinary, until it isn’t.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Day Every Ordinary Unit
You’ll call me damned Jew, a Christ murderer, a secret worshipper of pigs and a kidnapper of Christian children. How absurd! Who would want to kidnap children, Christian or otherwise? Vile things.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Children Christian Grow Up
Life is a jest of the Gods and there is no justice. You must learn to laugh… or else you’ll weep yourself to death.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Death Jest Justice Laughing Life
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the first book had not sold… doesn’t bear thinking about, but I suppose we’d have made it work somehow.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Firsts Sold Suppose Thinking
Writing is a solitary occupation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Occupation Solitary Writing
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land War Winning
Love is a dangerous thing. It comes in disguise to change our life… Lust is the deceiver. Lust wrenches our lives until nothing matters except the one we think we love, and under that deceptive spell we kill for them, give all for them, and then, when we have what we have wanted.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Love Men Thinking Wanted Wrenches
I do understand that you can look into someone’s eyes,” I heard myself saying, “and suddenly know that life will be impossible without them.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Eye Heard Heart Impossible Voice
Even the nailed god cannot change that truth. And I was a warrior, and in a world at war the warrior must be cruel.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Cruel Nailed Truth Warrior
Latin! The language of God! Or perhaps He speaks Hebrew? I suppose that’s more likely and it will make things rather awkward in heaven, won’t it? Will we all have to learn Hebrew?
BERNARD CORNWELL

Awkward God Heaven Latin Suppose
A man does not see where he treads in battle, for he is watching the enemy.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Battle Enemy Men Watching
Then you start another book and suddenly the galley proofs of the last one come in and you have to wrench your attention away from what you’re writing and try to remember what you were thinking when you wrote the previous one.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Attention Book Proof Thinking Writing

Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.

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Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.

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Popular Authors

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