Hi again, Mr. Cornwell. If I’m not mistaken, somewhere in the Starbuck Chronicles, you mention that Colonel Lassan was at the battle of Solferino in 1859, and that it was there that he lost his eye. This is interesting because the battle was bigger than any that Sharpe fought in (160,000 on each side), because of the particularly fierce nature of the fighting, and because of the high casualty list. Perhaps, in a future Starbuck novel, you can devote a few pages to Lassan telling Starbuck the story of his part in the battle? It would be easier than writing a whole novel on Lassan. Alan Kempner