Dear Bernard

I  have been a huge fan of Sharpe since I was a boy, and it inspired many a great game with a toy musket or two. I also hold fairly left wing views, and have always seen Sharpe as a class hero, struggling against the discrimination and elitism of the upper classes. Recently I have been a long argument on a Sharpe fan group as to whether he was indeed ‘left wing’ as it were in a 19th century context, and what his political stance would have been then and would have been now. I would be fascinated to know what politics, if any, you had in mind for Sharpe when writing, and what you think his general ideas and thoughts would have been.

Best wishes and many thanks,

Flint