Mr. Cornwell, I have read all your books and can honestly say I’ve enjoyed them all quite a lot. However, “The Fort” really depressed me (while reading it) as an American. Even though I’m a big military history buff, I was not familiar with the ill-fated expedition. I think for obvious reasons, it’s not emphasized in our tales of the Revolution. I must say the Historical Note at the end did cheer me up a little – not sure why. And of course you kindly had some of the characters discussing that all of the best soldiers have gone to the Continental Army. My question regarding “The Fort” is that you wrote it in the third person, whereas many of your more recent novels have been written in the first person. How do you decide which style to use? Thanks.

Bill Brockman