Dear Bernard, whilst I think that Daragh O’Malley is great as Pat Harper in the TV series of Sharpe, he doesn’t seem to be quite the hulk that Harper is in the books. Ween I first started reading Sharpe (many years ago!), I visualised Victor McLaglen as Harper, as he epitomised the big Irishman to me. When you first start writing a book, do you have actors in mind for the characters? (BTW – I did a search on Victor McLaglen before posting this to ensure I spelled his name correctly, and found out that he was actually born in Tunbridge Wells in Kent, and so wasn’t actually Irish! Here endeth today’s useless piece of information!) Incidentally, I’ve just finished ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’, and thought it excellent. Thanks for giving me so much enjoyment. David Coates