I read all the Sharpe books you wrote before 2000, enjoyed them all, but then fell away from your writings until I read Agincourt the other day. I enjoyed it, but was surprised at how cynical your view of the Church was: Nuns, priests, bishops, all but one are either evil, nasty or simpletons, and all but one has money, not serving God or fellow man, as their goal. Certainly, there have been evil and cynical clerics, but Agincourt must be 9 parts of them to one of decent priests. Chaucer was more balanced, and yet he lived only a few years before. My question is, have you found historical works supporting this cynical balance, or does this just reflect a strong anti-church personal view? Otherwise, I enjoyed the Agincourt story, especially the battle scenes, much as I thoroughly enjoyed your Waterloo battle description.

John O’Sullivan