One of the great pleasures I’ve had when re-reading your books over the last 15 years or so has been a wider appreciation for some of the themes and characters in your books as I myself have grown older. When reading the Sharpe series as a teenager I of course enjoyed the action and the comradeship, and as I’ve grown older I’ve appreciated more some of the bittersweet moments – most recently Sharpe’s loss of Grace.

As I reread Trafalgar in the wake of Prey, which handles Sharpe’s grief superbly, it made their time together all the more poignant. Similarly, Derfel’s appreciation of his family and home, and his simple religiosity is quite moving at times.

I’m going to be cheeky and ask two questions – I imagine your understanding of your characters changes as you yourself change, has your view of any of your characters radically shifted over time?

Secondly, one of the things that I always think is very attractive in historical fiction is the ‘zero to hero’ factor that the setting enables. Warfare in particular as a route to riches and power works very well in fiction. Hornblower, Sharpe, Thomas of Hookton, Derfel all experience this transformation to a greater or lesser extent, and it works well as a way of rewarding the character and by extension the reader for sticking with them.

The strong, capable hero can also become wealthy and even noble, through force of arms in a way that isn’t really on the cards once you hit 1900 onwards (to pick an arbitrary date). What do you think are some of the other difficulties in writing fiction set in recent history?

Lastly, goes with saying – I’m a huge fan, particularly enjoyed Fools and Mortals recently.

Philip McGuinness