Sir, I am finding the Saxon stories an excellent read and as enjoyable as the Sharpe books. I would be fascinated by your thoughts on the prowess of the various armies through the ages of the British Isles. Rightly or wrongly I always feel the Romans were a superb fighting army and often wonder atw what stage in our history that there is a comparable army to their prowess. For instance would the Saxon armies be able to cope with a Romand Army or indeed would the armies of the English Civil wars even with gunpowder be able to resist ? Alec Davis