Re the posting of ( 04 MAR 05): Mario DeBono of Malta needs to read Ernle Bradford’s book THE GREAT SIEGE. Published at least 20 years ago it is a great read, as are most of his works.

More on the Great Siege of Malta: Bradford’s book was first published in 1961. After my knee-jerk response to Mario DeBono’s note last night I was inspired to pull it out this morning. The subject would make a great novel or series for you. The story is full of larger-than-life people like the comander of the Knights, Jean Parisot de le Valette, his Executive Officer Oliver Starkey, Sultan Suleiman the First, Dragut the Pirate, The conniving women of Suleiman’s seraglio( The right term for what most Europeans call the harem), Emperor Charles the Fifth, Mustapha Pasha and the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem. De la valette alone is worth a novel. He was 70 at the time of the siege( The same age as the Sultan). He had been a galley slave of the Turks for years and later captured his captor whom he sent sent to the oars of the Order’s galleys. The Order was a hotbed of intrigue among its eight national groups ( Known as Langues); Valette was the only non-Italian who had ever been elected General of the fleet, which office he held before becoming Grand Master. Bradford says of him ” To have attained such an age after a life of constant warfare a man had to be fantastically hard. To have attained such an age with physical strength and mental ability unimpaired, a man had to be almost superhuman”. You could develop the character of a young man who became a knight participated in the great adventures culminating in the siege. I’m sure that I would not be alone in enjoying such a story as you could make of this. Keep on writing so I can keep on reading, Ed Sprague