Mr. Cornwell,
I have gotten a tremendous amount of enjoyment, not to mention historical education, from reading your books. I particularly enjoy the battle scenes, and Sharpe’s Waterloo was riveting.
Another author I enjoy tremendously is Georgette Heyer, who sort of follows in the footsteps of Jane Austen. I just finished Ms. Heyer’s “An Infamous Army”, which she wrote in 1937. She describes this book as “A Novel of Love, War, Wellington and Waterloo.” My expectation of an excellent treatment of the Battle of Waterloo was set by “Sharpe’s Waterloo.” Imagine my great surprise in being unable to put the book down, so captivating was her description of the days leading up to the battle and the battle itself…the troop dispositions, Blucher’s late arrival, the battle for Hougoumont, ….. The research was obviously thorough; the portion of the book dealing with the immediate prelude to the battle and the battle itself runs to 300+ pages. Nowhere was there a hint that the author’s reputation was built upon her excellence mainly as a romance writer.
I don’t know if you’ve ever read “An Infamous Army.” If you have, I would be very interested in what you thought of it. If you haven’t, and should you ever have some spare time for a good read, may I recommend it highly?
Thanks for reading this.
Amy Sample