Jonathan Hopkins

About

A Writer’s Tale

When my father died, one of the things he left me was a box of Bernard Cornwell’s ‘Sharpe’ novels. I’d watched the TV series, of course, but never read any of the books. And much to my surprise, not being a history buff, I enjoyed them.

But one thing grated. Sharpe was very critical of his British cavalry comrades; something that didn’t sit well with one who’s been involved with horses for much of his life. They could not have been that inept, could they? So I started to read more about horsemen in the Duke of Wellington’s day; contemporary and modern histories, diaries, newspaper and magazine articles, anything relevant I could find, in fact. And what I mostly found was the same old disparaging attitude.

In the meantime, fed up with typical wife-grumbles (‘you’re not romantic anymore/never buy me flowers/we don’t do anything different etc, etc.) I decided the most effective riposte would be to deliver flowers, on our anniversary, on horseback, dressed as a 19^th century hussar, followed by a carriage drive to lunch. This entailed making a full set of reproduction period horse-tack, a job I thought would not be too difficult for someone who works with leather. However, I soon discovered that patterns for equipment available in the early 1800’s were non-existent, forcing me to work from period illustrations and paintings. A useful knock-on effect of this turned out to be requests from historical re-enactors for other reproduction leather items – my latest project is a crupper (strap to stop the saddle sliding forward) to fit an 1805 pattern hussar saddle.

All the extra research I’d done to enable me to make a Napoleonic hussar’s equipment convinced me I was right: that historians’ attitudes to the cavalry of the time were grossly unfair. And because I’m no historian, but have always believed I can tell a good story, I thought I must write something to challenge the Duke of Wellington’s often-quoted (and later retracted) comment that his cavalry were an uncontrolled rabble who merely resorted to ‘galloping at everything.'

Unfair comment based on misinformation, and widely reported: that's the reason I started to write what became ‘Walls of Jericho.’

I must have been potty!!

Jonathan

Vital Temptations: A Heart's Betrayal

0.0

0 ratings

Description

Dr. Bethany McNeal is living her dream as a pediatric resident in one of the most sought-after medical centers in Seattle. Beautiful and intelligent, she’s missing only one thing—love, which she put on hold to focus on her career after ending a tumultuous relationship. Everything changes when she meets Dr. Brent Anderson, a charming and handsome fellow resident. Despite her reservations, Bethany falls for Brent—hard. When she learns Brent is married several months into their relationship, she immediately breaks it off. After graduating residency and going their separate ways, Bethany tries to move on with another man—real estate broker and personal trainer Charles Blakely. But just when things get serious with Charles, she realizes she’s still in love with Brent, and she finds herself caught between the two men, facing a series of difficult decisions and harrowing events that will change her life forever. Will she be able to recover from the vital temptations that turned her perfect life upside down?

Story Behind The Book

Media Links

Reviews

'An excellent tale of the Peninsular War told from the cavalryman’s point of view. If you like Bernard Cornwell’s tales of this period, then you’ll like this.' <a class="RE" href="http://booksfromboris.com/">Books from Boris</a> '...wish you loads of success with your book!' Bernard Cornwell (by email) 'Mr. Hopkins displays an evident love of his subject and a thorough knowledge of 19th century military methods, swordsmanship and horsemanship. His narrative is engaging and I found myself quite quickly turning pages as I became involved with the events surrounding the two main characters.' <a href="http://ihearditonthegrapevine.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/walls-of-jericho-by-jonathan-hopkins/">I Heard It On The Grapevine</a> 'I really enjoyed your book. It's the sort of thing that should be on TV.' Keith Jones

Sponsors

Sponsors