Dear Mr. Cornwell, My son, age 10, has read the entire Arthur stories, the Saxon Stories, The Grail Quest Series, and is nearly done with the Sharpe Books. He began with Agincourt after he saw it in an airport book store. I have tried my best to keep up with him. I recently finished a book by an author named Lee Burkins who wrote Soldier’s Heart. It is a memoir about his struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from his experiences in the Vietnam War. Having both your series and his book in my head, I began to wonder: Has PTSD existed throughout the ages with a similar intensity? It began to occur to me that perhaps PTSD occurs more when there is a greater difference between a life of war, and when the soldier returns to a life that is distant from war in every way. What I mean to say is that perhaps in Uhtred’s time, war was a natural, normal, expected part of life, and war was never very far away from one’s existence, so there was less of a disconnect between the two. As history has progressed, it seems as though “civilized, normal life” has become more and more distant from the acts of war and immediate aggression. People don’t carry swords or guns in everyday life, and expect justice and peace to be enforced in a structured, civil manner by the police. So the act of going to war is tremendously jarring, and the return perhaps more so. Has there ever been mention in any historical source of warriors who were crippled in this way? With your immense background on warfare and life throughout history, would you please comment on this? Thanks. Sincerely, Jim Hinsman