Cornwell’s battles are undeniably exciting. This is realistic war violence, after all. And this isn’t just a brief interlude – the battle scene lasts for a solid 75+ pages. There are plenty of violent moments leading up to the final crazed melee…but nothing that can compare to the amount of gore in the pivotal conflict of Agincourt. Any film adaptation of “Agincourt” would carry a solid R rating due to the sheer sustained brutality of the climactic battle scene. Sensitive readers with a distaste for blood should stay far away from any of Cornwell’s books. Bad language is also prevalent throughout, but it is generally not gratuitous. Several rapes occur just offscreen, and some coarse jesting takes place among the soldiers in Henry’s army. This is an unfortunate trend, but there is some truth in Cornwell’s assessment.Ĭornwell’s books also take an unflinching look at the seamier side of medieval life. Personal faith is treated with respect and reverence, yet the Church is unfailingly portrayed as corrupt and bigoted. (This assessment comes after reading more than a dozen of Cornwell’s other books). Without fail, all priests fall into one of two categories: the jovial, ale-loving, womanizing Friar Tuck type and the scrawny, finger-pointing, cowardly, lascivious type. It should be noted that Cornwell does not have a high regard for the institution of the Church. The book climaxes in the white-knuckled, pulse-pounding, blood-spraying battle of Agincourt. During his journey, he meets a beautiful French girl named Melisande and incurs the wrath of a corrupt priest and his two sons. After failing to stop the brutal murder of a religious dissenter, he believes his soul is cursed and he can only redeem himself through noble deeds (I’ll avoid the obvious works-righteousness theological question…this is an action novel, after all, not a Scriptural treatise). But it’s Cornwell’s powerful characters that really drive this book. Fans of Shakespeare’s classic play “Henry V” (and those who have seen the 1989 film version starring Kenneth Branagh) already know how this story turns out. Henry’s ambitious goal: unite the two shattered kingdoms under the British crown.

“Agincourt”, Cornwell’s latest, follows British archer Nicholas Hook as he travels with King Henry V into the depths of war-torn France.

No one – I repeat, *no one* – writes epic battle scenes better than Cornwell. His bestselling novels depict young men thrust into historic conflicts that shaped the face of Western civilization – and the acclaim his books have garnered is well deserved. Bernard Cornwell is the “It” author when it comes to historical fiction.

Nicholas hook agincourt