Dear Mr Cornwell, I’ve been a great fan of your books, particularly the Sharpe series, ever since I was a child and read my dad’s well-thumbed copies. I recently read Richard Holmes’s excellent “Redcoat”, a book it seems from the quotes plastered prominently across the edition I had that you yourself enjoyed. After reading it, and doing some other background reading, I wondered whether you have ever been tempted to have Sharpe meet, however briefly, that most fascinating of Napoleonic War heroes, Harry Smith? He seems to have truly led a life you yourself could have written, and I was curious as to whether you’d ever considered giving him a guest appearance. (Of course, some of the Sharpe books I last read some years ago now and the details have faded a little, so if Smith has actually had a cameo somewhere in the series already I apologise for my forgetfulness!) All good wishes, Paul Hayes Norwich