Dear Mr Cornwell, Congratulations on the award of your OBE. I have just finished reading Lords of the North which I very much enjoyed. I think of the three books so far I enjoyed The Pale Horseman the most, mainly because the story and in particular because of your description of the battle of Ethandum. This leads me to my question. The character of Svein (which I note was made up) dons a horsetail plume on his helmet and has a white horse on a green field as his emblem. Was this borrowed from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? I couldn’t help noticing this attachment is the same as that worn by the Eomer character in this book (indicating a Marshall of Rohan) and the emblem is the badge of Rohan. I am now half way through the Winter King but I am eagerly awaiting the next in the Saxon series! Regards, Peter