Dear Mr. Cornwell,

Thank you for creating Richard Sharpe!  And please thank Judy for getting you into a position where you were stimulated to create him.

I am a New Englander, born and bred, a bit older than you.  So an interest in the British Peninsular War, as opposed to the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil  War, was a bit out of the ordinary when I was growing up.

Fortunately, our small town library carried C.S.Forester’s Hornblower series, which led to his Peninsular War novellas Rifleman Dodd and The Gun, which made me aware of the PW.  And Wellington.  It took a while to find more, including Elizabeth Longford’s biography and Jac Weller’s books, prowling used book stores.

Then came the rainy week we camped in Maine, hoping in vain for the weather to clear, trying to entertain our three children.  The many trips to the Maine Mall led to browsing the remainder bins and the discovery of Sharpe’s Eagle and Sharpe’s Gold.  An ‘aha!’ moment, a bright spot in a trying week.  I have been hunting Sharpe ever since, here and in the UK on business trips, with a high degree of success.  Visiting Waterloo with my son Tom, during his semester abroad at Leiden, my guides included Sharpe’s Waterloo and Jac Weller’s Wellington at Waterloo.  And I am quite pleased to have your nonfiction book on Waterloo.

I like the films, and happy that they stimulated you to expand the Sharpe saga, but they were difficult to catch on PBS.  The books are on my shelf – much easier to access.

The recent publication of Sharpe’s Assassin revived my awareness of Sharpe; I now have the three short stories and your tale of Sharpe’s origin, all very good.  It is pleasant to see him settled with Lucille in Normandy.  But one has to wonder; will events occur to Devil (sorry) him and Harper again?

I am minded to paraphrase General Patton’s famous comment about Field Marshall Rommel:  Sharpe, you magnificent bastard, I read your books!

Thank you again!

Charles Innis