Dear Mr. Cornwell, Were you by any chance in South Essex just before Xmas? I was travelling in to work from Chelmsford (on Thu 21 Dec I think)and someone who got on at Ingatestone or Shenfield saw my copy of Sharpe's Fury and struck up a conversation. He asked if I liked the Sharpe series and if I'd ever visited any of the battle sites. I replied that I was indeed a fan, and had read all of them except Trafalgar, but had only read the Arthur trilogy of your other books. The only time I nearly went on a battlefield tour was when I was on safari in South Africa with my daughter Yas (then 12). By the time we reached Natal she was getting a tad lazy or over-safaried. On the way back to Jo'burg we drove into the Drakensbergs to Giant's Castle, but because we'd just missed a tour and it was a 45min walk, she declined visiting the World Heritage Site San rock paintings. Maybe zulu war killing grounds wouldn't have been top of her things to do list anyway. We did visit the fort at Eshowe where John Dunn was the only ever white zulu chief. Not sure whether this was 100% true, as the same was claimed at the of Portugese trader Albisini at the Albisini Ruins in Kruger Park. I told my new companion that I enjoyed the History Channel's Sharpe's War and I'm sure I've seen a few other documentaries where Sharpe or yourself have been mentioned in dispatches. I'm not sure I'd be able to make the past come alive just from being in a field and would probably need a professional guide. He said a good map was essential anyway as they are often difficult to locate with a couple of centuries' changes. The Napoleonic war was definitely his period and he mentioned someone who did tours in Spain & Portugal. I asked whether it was anyone you mention in some of your Historical Notes or even the Sharpe's war series. He did look a lot like yourself, although perhaps not so elegantly trimmed as the jacket photo in Sharpe's Fury and not wearing glasses. He got off at Liverpool St with a folding bike. I just thought...South Essex...(maybe)? Best Wishes and Happy New Year anyway, Nigel Lawton
It was not me - must have been my doppelganger.