I ‘discovered’ your Sharpe series of books by accident (a very happy accident I must say) because of my love of books by Patrick O’Brian and Alexander Kent – I thought my first Sharpe book (Sharpe’s Trafalgar) would interest me. I am now a convert. I would appreciate your comment on the differences between naval and army officers of the period. The former (as depicted in the books I have read)seem to be generally competent but often ruthless despots while the army officer seems to be often incompetent to the extent of being dangerous to his men. Would you consider this to be because of the long “apprenticeship” served by the naval officer while most of the army officer posts were bought rather than earned? Was the English army so successful despite the “ability” of the officer class rather than because of it? In both cases, the courage and skill of the enlisted man seems to shine through.
Barry McNamara