Mr. Cornwell,

I Have three questions, I’ll try to ask them as quickly as I can.

Were you ever in the military? I served 8 years in the US Marine Corps infantry, and your descriptions of everyday life within an infantry platoon have always been spot on. In fact, I first read “Redcoat” as a young teenager, and hated Sgt Scammell with a passion. Upon re-reading it after my time in the infantry, I found myself empathizing with his motivations behind the murder of the young civilian at the beginning of the book, without agreeing with the murder itself. I’ve found that most infantry units that I served in have had that same “us against them” mentality in regards to the unit as a whole vs anyone of higher command then the company commander itself. I was just wondering if that ability to understand the mentality of you basic run of the mill grunt comes from personal experience, or is simply good story telling

Secondly, how exactly is Sgt Hakeswill’s last name pronounced? I’ve always read it as Hack-swill, but was talking about the series with a co-worker of mine who is also a fan and he pronounced it differently.

Thirdly, have you ever considered any storylines based off the wars of the Duke Of Marlbourough?

Luke