A spectacularly large deal, for six new books, was signed with British historical novelist Bernard Cornwell, whose novels about Richard Sharpe, set during the Napoleonic wars, have been international bestsellers. It was HarperCollins General Books president Cathy Hemming who signed the major seven-figure contract with the author's London agent, Toby Eady (Cornwell is represented in this country by the Ed Breslin agency). It was for hard/soft U.S. English language rights plus audio and covers three new Sharpe titles, two in Cornwell's Grail Quest series, set during the Hundred Years War, and a period mystery set in London in the early 19th century, a sequel to the recent Gallows Thief.