Mr. Cornwell, I was first introduced to your books by my fencing coach 15 years ago. It is easy to see why he was such an avid fan of your writing given his fencing career, service in the USMC, and his Scottish ancestry. I work at a Barnes and Noble and am finishing up my degree in History. I still fence and help teach foil classes where I live. I wanted to thank you for producing so many entertaining stories that have provided me with endless hours of enjoyment. You clearly put tremendous effort into researching the historical periods of your books. I’m a modern fencer first and foremost, but the history of fencing and its development through the centuries interests me. Your works exhibit a surprising understanding of fencing terms, tactics, strategy, and movements. The bout at the beginning of Sharpe’s Prey and Derfel against Liofa (while not technically fencing) both display an innate grasp of some of the most important tenets of fencing. Throughout your books, I’ve appreciated seeing actual fencing translated into battle scenes or duels. Frederickson’s use of a slim sword and Colonel MacDonnell at Hougoumont show characters that were probably trained fencers. There are many others I’ve not named, but all of them entertained this fencer enormously. My question is this: did you ever fence at some point in your life? And, offhand can you think of any books you’ve used to help prepare the sword-fighting scenes in your books? Thank you in advance, Dustin P.S. – Sharpe is still my favorite, though he’d probably scoff at my fencing (hah).