Dear Mr. Cornwell, I’ve recently started reading some of your books, including the Grail Series and Agincourt. I’m enjoying your attention to detail, which is why I’m writing about what might seem a very small detail to most people. I’m an historical costumer. In fact, I’m currently working on a reproduction Charles de Blois pourpoint. I was rather amused when the character was introduced in the Grail series that I was listening to on audiobook, while I was physically stitching the garment. I’ve noticed and appreciated that you take a great deal of effort to describe the mechanisms of a siege engine or the proper workings of a crossbow. However, as is so common in literature and in film, the detail to clothing seems more rooted in assumptions about medieval costume rather than fact. I’m not suggesting that you get into drawn-out detail about the cut and detail of clothing – I’m sure that many readers would find that boring! However, a very small change – with big impact – would be to say that the men were wearing hose or chausses with their doublets or jerkins, instead of the ubiquitous breeches. Men in 14th and 15th century England and France did not wear breeches. They wore long “socks”, or hose or chausses, the specific style of which depended on the exact time period and social class of the wearer. I know this seems like a very minor quibble, but in reenacting groups world-wide men show up, inspired by books and film, ready to portray somebody similar to their favorite character. The chausses and hose are critical to the proper look and feel of this period, and including them in the story would make the flavor much more accurate to the time period. All in all, I commend you on your work focusing on the 14th and 15th centuries. It’s an era that is near and dear to my heart, and I’m please to see others taking interest. I hope that you will continue to focus on this period in the future. Kind Regards, Charlotte Johnson