I hope this message finds you well. I would like to thank you firstly and offer some explanation as to why I’m contacting yourself. I grew up on Canvey Island and, whilst I enjoyed the usual pastimes with friends, I seemed to be one of a very few, if not the only one, interested in the history of where I lived. I had heard of the Battle of Benfleet but had no source or means (80’s/90’s) to find anything more than a leaflet in the local library. I would stare and wonder what myriad events had occurred along the rich seam of the area’s past. Often I would be at the point of the island (by the concrete barge which is no more) finding Roman pottery, dreaming of discovering a gold coin or something of cultural value. This distanced me from other children, who did not share my passion and curiosity. My early schooling was Christian based (as so many are) and I was also required to go to church one Sunday a month through the scouting organisation. The sermons, practices and readings amused me and I couldn’t understand why so many learned adults believed so fervently in the stories which were told by the minister or teachers. I sensed some teachers felt the same way. I sensed there was a truth long ago hidden behind the book.

As such, I find a connection with Uhtred and so much more.

Long since then, I have become an avid reader of your Warrior Chronicle series (Last Kingdom) and other novels. Although I take into account some detail must be fleshed by fiction, I also understand that the bones of the facts are there.

Thank you for providing me with the knowledge that I wasn’t the only person with a yearning for history and a healthy doubt of Christianity, and for your exhilarating novels. My deepest gratitude.

Michael Bond