I just wanted to tell you that you have created some of the most noble, ornery, and memorable characters in literature. I stumbled on one of the Sharpe novels and shared it with a friend, who is a retired CIA type character in his 80’s living in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Mariposa, CA. We both enjoyed the adventures of Sharpe, and your slightly modified history of the Napoleonic War. I recently ordered the Starbuck Chronicles, another great character and series. At first I was disappointed to realize I had already read Starbuck years ago. Nevertheless I reread them and thoroughly enjoyed them a second time. My friend in the foothills is eagerly awaiting their delivery. I teach art at a community college. Several times over the years I have loaned Sharpe novels to some of my male students who have expressed the sentiment “I hate to read”. In this age of computer games, the excitement and your realistic presentation of the swash-buckle of 19th century, hand-to-hand combat has thrilled some into a love of literature. Your depiction of the injustice of the class-system, the sorrow elicited in the loss of a character we’ve grown fond of, and the touches of poetry describing the incongruity of soldiers noticing the beauty of nature…birdsongs, dappled sun-light…amidst the horrors of war are all brilliant examples of the novel. Thanks for the great reading. Jamey Brzezinski