Dear Bernard, I recently re-read Sharpe’s Eagle (that is, I read it for the second time) and this time, knowing that it was your first book, noticed that you describe things that happened in Sharpe’s past, but which you hadn’t then written about. For example, you mention how Sharpe learned to read while captive in the Tippoo Sultan’s dungeons. I’ve since noticed that you do this frequently throughout the series. When you were writing Sharpe’s Eagle (if you can remember) did you just throw these references in as a convenient way of explaining an aspect of Sharpe’s character? It seems to me that by doing so you’re creating a potential consistency nightmare for the earlier books, which of course you wrote after Eagle. But I must say that you managed it very well! Did you find it difficult achieving that consistency in the (chronologically) earlier books, or did you actually plan out Sharpe’s life up to the time of Eagle, to make sure that he could actually be where you said he was? It’s complicated just asking the question! Many thanks, Chris