Mr. Cornwell, I’m from Brazil and a true fan of your work. I’ve read The Warlord Chronicles, The Grail Quest, some Sharpe books and currently I’m reading The Saxon Stories third volume, The Lords Of The North. I was raised to believe that only classic literature holds true value but your books completely changed my views. Nowhere else I’ve found this sense of epic and atmosphere combined with harshness and realism. The true brilliance of your stories, however, lies in your ability to create larger than life (yet mundane), believable, three dimensional characters. Many times I found myself marvelled at how I how I related to them. It’s wonderful to see so many important historical figures showing feelings and doubts just like the rest of us, apart from the cold, apathetic portraits that we see at History books. That said, there are somethings that I’ve been wondering about.. Were the similarities between Uhtred and Derfel intended? Was Uhtred’s arrogance increased to set the characters apart? And which was the hardest book for you to write? Thank you for your time. Ives Leocelso Silva Costa