Dear Mr, Cornwell I would like to beg your indulgence and ask a question which you may find frivolous or silly. In your excellent Saxon series, my all time favorite of your works, so far, you mention that the history of those times was written by priests, who would often change the facts to make some important personage sound better or worse than he was. Would this still apply in the 13th Century or even later? Would it be at all feasible to write about a royal personage being erased from the history books completely? I am writing a critique of The Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which was written 100 years ago, this November. A historical romance, set in the years 1243-1264 and built on the premise that Henry III had two sons, the youngest Richard was kidnapped as an infant by De Vec, an enemy of the monarch. De Vec, a Frenchman raises the child as his own, names him Norman, teaches him swordsmanship and to hate all Englishmen. After many stirring adventures, Richard/Norman is restored to his Royal Family To explain the fictional Richard and his story, Burroughs explains: At first it was suppressed by one of the Plantagenet kings of England. Later it was forgotten. This always sounded a bit hastily contrived, but how else could it be explained? Regards, D. Peter Ogden