You said please no ideas for a book(in reference to the Sharpe series),but as a great fan of the Saxon Series, and the Harlequin trilogy,I wanted to mention some research about the Stewart Dynasty that I stumbled across. I just cannot find anyone who has traced the extraordinary story of the rise of the Stewart family, from their origins in Dol en Bretagne and Alan FitzFlaad, through Walter FitzAlan! The Stewarts are of Breton origin via Oswestry it seems, and there is even a clue that it was Scots forced out by the Romans, circa 400 AD who settled in Eastern Brittany, and whose descendants joined in the Norman conquest and were given lands and became Marcher Lords. Famous families like the Arundels, Dukes of Norfolk (the Premier Duke of England)- the Fitzalans and Howards, came from Brittany not Normandy it seems! There is a magnificent story there for a storyteller of your skill and love of British history to reveal how this exceptional family changed the course of British history! Nigel Tranter covered the Scottish side from James 1, but did not delve earlier. I wait impatiently for the Uhtred sequel meanwhile and thanks for such great reading enjoyment and detailed accurate historical background research. Best wishes, Stephen Pollock-Hill (PS The Polloks were vassals of the FitzAlans, hence my interest. Our boar crest and ancestor’s story spurred Sir Walter Scott to write “Quentin Durward”, we believe!
Stephen Pollock-Hill