Dear Mr Cornwell. Everyone has his favourites: in my case, I love your Saxon stories. I think the main requirement in fiction is psychological realism. In historical fiction, a linked and equally essential requirement is the avoidance of modern attitudes. Uhtred rings true, and I shall read the whole series yet again in the late summer so that “Death of Kings” will follow naturally in September. Thank you for many an engrossing hour.

Dick Atkinson