I must start by saying how much I enjoy your books, I have only recently started to read the Sharpe books, but I have been side tracked by your Saxon stories, as it’s a real passion of mine it has captured my imagination completely. I myself have heard that I can trace my bloodline back to those tumultuous times through my mother’s and father’s Saxon side and from the Norwegian and Danish side of both my parents yet again, so I am as I would class myself ‘half Anglo Saxon and half Danish/Norse’. My father is from Scotland and is from the McDougall clan, who are originally descended from Norwegian Royal blood, and my mother is from Brighton and her Scottish side are from the Campbell clan as well as a few others clans I can’t remember off the top of my head and apparently can trace their origin back to some of the first Danes who came over in the Viking raids. But both their sides of Anglo Saxon can be traced, one from the north of England from around Northumbria and the second from around Mercia/Wessex. How they can trace that far back I am not exactly sure so one day soon I shall find out . Anyway back on topic, I have been captivated by these books and my imagination has gone wild, I know you based Uhtred of Babbanburg on an ancestor of your own and that got me thinking that some of the people you mentioned in your books people like Ubba Lothbrokson and Ivarr the bonless and some of the Anglo Saxon characters in your books who actually existed, could in theory be an ancestor of my own. And because of your Saxon books I am actively searching for more information on my own family history hoping to find some detailed information, hopefully I can but if I can’t myself I will go to a family history specialist. May I ask how you found your family history? And how much were you able to actually find out about your ancestors? Oh and one last thing, have you started to write the fourth book in the series? If so how far have you got, no pressure! Hehe. I hope this email gets to you, I am very much looking forward to your reply. Ben Pilley