Good Morning Mr Cornwell,
As a young boy I grew up listening to my Granddad retell his experiences as an infantryman in the Second World War, that and documentaries on both WW1 and WW2 only further developed my passion for military history. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s on adventure training with the army in Lancaster that a fellow Gunner introduced me to Sharpe, from that point on I was hooked, not just on your novels, but also on the Napoleonic Wars.
I’m now in my early 40’s and halfway through studying for a Master’s degree in Military History and it was whilst reading ‘The Letters of Private Wheeler’ that I decided to return to your novels and reread Sharpe from the beginning. The one thing that has always made you novels more enjoyable and real, is the historical notes section at the end. Last night I was finishing Sharpe’s Fortress and reading the historical section on the siege of Gawilghur and Captain Campbell’s exploits, you mentioned that one historian’s works on Wellington barely gave the siege three lines of text.
Anyway, getting to my point, I was wondering if you had considered writing a more in-depth history of Wellington’s campaigns with an emphasis on the real heroes of these battles? Maybe call it Sharpe’s Heroes.
Kindest regards,
Martin Ogle