Dear Mr Cornwell Many thanks for your kind reply to my recent enquiry about Christianity in the Sharpe books. You have now prompted me to commence reading the Starbuck series, not least to find out about Swynyard. It is interesting that you have received more adverse comment than favourable regarding your Christian characters, as they appear to me to cover the whole gamut, ranging from the almost saintly, such as Major Vivar, through the robustly ordinary, such as Harper, to the overtly wicked, such as the murderous Father Montseny; a range which probably accurately reflects real life. Either way, I believe that it is historically important that you have included a strong Christian influence in the novels, as this was clearly a major part of life during the times in question. In today’s politically correct secular society, I notice that Christianity is airbrushed out of much historical fiction, both in books and on film, as though it had never existed. Ian Marchant