SCHAUMANN was born in Hanover and at the age of 16 he was compelled to join the army against his will, but he eventually rose through the ranks to the rank of junior-subaltern, though he left the Hanoverian Army in 1799. When France invaded Hanover in 1803 Schaumann went to England where he was employed as a clerk at a Newcastle firm. In 1807 he decided to move to Russia. He never made it there because heavy storms forced him to take refuge in Goteborg, Sweden. Here too he found a brief employment as a clerk. When the English fleet sailed back to England after its Swedish expedition in 1808 August he boarded one of its ships and was taken to England to start a new career as war commissary in the King's German Legion.
Bernard Cornwell was born in London, England, on February 23, 1944, and came to the United States in 1980. He received a B.A. from the University of London in 1967. Cornwell served as producer of the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1969-1976. After this he was head of current affairs for BBC-TV in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1979 he became editor of television news for Thames Television of London. Since 1980 he has been a freelance writer. he lives with his wife on Cape Cod. Cornwell's Sharpe series, adventure stories about a British soldier set in the Peninsula War of 1808-1814, are built on the author's interest in the Duke of Wellington's army. Titles include Sharpe's Rifles, Sharpe's Revenge, Sharpe's Siege, Sharpe's Regiment, and Sharpe's Waterloo. The Last Kingdom series has ten books. Book ten, The Flame Bearer is on the bestsellers list. He has also written other works including Wildtrack, Killer's Wake, Sea Lord, Stormchild, Rebel, Copperhead, and Battle Flag. His title Death of Kings made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2012 and In 2014 his title The Pagan Lord made the list again.