I have contacted you before and told you that I have only read a few of your books. I have read the grail quest trilogy, two sharpe books, I’m in the middle of The Winter King and have just started Sharpe’s Eagle (I have a habit of reading up to six books at once). I’ve noticed one thing common with all of your main male characters. They are appaling at keeping women. I’ve also watched the Sharpe TV series and can gather from that that his first wife gets shot, the marquesa goes away and his second wife leaves him. Also in the India books he has a woman who runs off with his treasure and another that dies. In Harlequin, Vagabond and Heretic Thomas’s first woman runs off and his second is killed. In the Winter King, Derfel is having trouble with his woman as well. Both Thomas and Sharpe only manage to keep a woman at the end of the series. Don’t you like women or do you believe in variety? Also, can you recommend any books or websites that someone who wanted to right a book on the battle of the Somme could use for research purposes? If you do then I would be much obliged. P.S. Seargent Harper is the best ever character I have read or seen on TV. In Sharpe’s Honour on TV he has a conversation with a major that goes like this. “Where are we going sir?””Over the hills and far away, seargent.””Sir, which hills and how far?””Questions, questions.” Is that in the book as well because it is so funny. Robert Eyre