Dear Mr Cornwell,

What an absolutely dreadful year 2020 has turned into! Thousands of people sadly losing their lives to this dreadful virus and with the very real prospect of a second wave in the winter months. I sincerely hope that you and your family have remained safe and well during this extraordinary difficult period of time?

I was one of the 2.2 million people in the UK deemed to be “extremely vulnerable” and was therefore required to stay at home and shield for what turned out to be five months of self confinement! Looking on the bright side I decided to reach for a novel that I had not read for some time with which to help pass the hours and days that I suddenly found myself with. Looking at the bookshelf I was immediately drawn to my complete collection  of the Sharpe books. Perfect! What better way to pass the time then by immersing myself in the entire Sharpe story once again from start to finish!

I therefore pulled my copy of Sharpe’s Tiger from the shelf, made myself comfortable in my favourite armchair and began to read. I was surprised and delighted when I realised that I could not recall every small detail of the story as it unfolded on the pages and that this was almost as good as reading them for the first time. Wonderful! I read voraciously every day and I am delighted to say that I loved every single plot twist and turn all over again! Sharpe & Harper completely consumed every spare minute of every day in lockdown. Sharpe’s Escape stood out as I could vividly recall reading it the first time while on a trip to Buenos Aries and this evoked several fond memories of reading the novel in the warm South American sunshine.

Five months later I have just closed the cover of Sharpe’s Christmas which was the very last book that I read in the series. I wanted to thank you for such an engaging “hero” in Richard Sharpe and his partner in crime, often literally, in Patrick Harper. These two loveable rogues have eased me through a difficult and often frightening period of my life and your storytelling prowess and skill has made me laugh, cry and smile every day. Thank you.

I was even more delighted when I see that you are planning at least one more adventure for Sharpe & Harper! Fantastic news and I for one cannot wait to read it!

For me Sharpe & Harper will be forever engrained in my memory and when I look back on this dreadful year I will recall these two and their epic journey and a sardonic, slightly mocking smile may well appear on my face at the memory of how these two rogues helped to get me through lockdown.

Once again, thank you.

Kind Regards

Jerry Gates