Dr. Mr. Cornwell, Wild about your writing! Esp. the Arthur books, the Saxon books, and the Sharpe books (wherein I have got up through Sharpe’s Company. I was looking at the FAQ’s to see if there were any discussion of a relationship between Hakeswill and Col. Wyndham because of Hakeswill’s fixation on Wyndham’s wife’s portrait. I know. I know. Read the books (but I inadvertently skipped “Havoc” and didn’t want to get completely screwed up by getting out of sync). The notion that the patrician Wyndham might be the one who cut down the little sadist and chivied him out of the county was fun to contemplate. Hakeswill is a complete tour de force. Every time he pops up I feel like one of those silent movie patrons who hissed at the villain. Anyway, the FAQ’s inform me that there was a TV production of some kind and that Pete Postlethwaite played Hakeswill. I thought you might know this but maybe not: they made a movie called “Rat” where a husband turns into a real rat and Postlethwaite played the title character. How perfect is that for Hakeswill? I lived in New Orleans for many years and I knew at least one Hakeswill there. Name of Riley. He also seemed to be unkillable. I swear if you threw him off a cliff a mattress truck would pick that moment to break down right where he was about to land. Thanks again. Write long and prosper. John Russell, Geneva, NY