However strange for a lifelong bibliophile, I only recently discovered Sharpe – curiously, through Amazon’s “you might like these” while hunting for Hornblower books to reread. I did indeed “like these.” So much so that I acquired all 21 and read them more or less in chronological order. I was bereft at the end of “Devil” and immediately went in search of the short stories as well. You’ve heard it all before a thousand times but permit me to add my voice to the appreciative chorus. I came to care deeply for the character you created and I am most sincerely grateful that you didn’t feel obligated to do something “meaningful” or “arty” with him at the end. You allowed Sharpe and Harper to ride off into the sunset – as it were – to a well-deserved and happy rest. And that’s where my dear boy will always remain in my mind’s eye; as you said in “Devil”…dozing by the fire as the cauldron bubbles, the children laughing nearby. The other specific item of praise I wanted to offer is my amazement at your consistent ability to offer up telling details that bring the battle into incredible focus and immediacy. As I have told many friends, one can all but smell the gun smoke. And, most astonishingly of all, every battle was different – different details, different telling vignettes evoked in every single one. In all those thousands of pages, you never “coasted.” Not once. An amazing achievement, sir, and one for which I needed to express my sincere gratitude.
Jane Garvey