Dear Mr.Cornwell, I am a huge fan of your Sharpe books having been for many years a lover of the Hornblower series. I was so pleased find out recently that Penguin have republished Hornblower and the Crisis plus two short stories with a foreword by your good self. I notice you say at one point that you considered Sharpe to be”Hornblower on land” which he so obviously is but with your own twists and thoughts. The best compliment I can pay you is to say that your books are the equal of C.S.Forester. Could you possibly answer one query I have ? I read somewhere that Forester never went to sea!Can this be correct considering his huge knowledge of ships sails, navigation etc,?I look forward to your future Sharpe novels and wish you good luck. Peter O’D.