Dear Mr. Cornwell, I have recently been introduced to your books. I am happy that you are such a prolific writer since that means it will be quite a while before I exhaust your ample supply.So far I have read 4 Uhtred books, Stonehenge, and Agincourt. I especially like that they are based in history. I have a question for you. My maiden name is Ransom, originally from England. There is very little on the history of that name and I have always assumed that the story of how we came to have that name is lost to the mysteries of history. But now I am reading your stories and see that ransoming people was quite common. Immediately I see various possibilities for the origin of the name. Do you have any comments on this? Thanks in advance for your time to answer this question. And Merry Christmas! Julie Ransom Fricke