I received tragic news this week – of the death of Susan Watt, who has been my editor and publisher at HarperCollins since the very first Sharpe book – Sharpe’s Eagle – way back in 1980.
Susan was a huge supporter of Sharpe and a brilliant publisher. She had enthusiasm, energy, and a deep care for both Sharpe and his creator. She accompanied me on many visits to Wellington’s battlefields where her pointed questions forced me to think more deeply about what had happened there. Thus, in Seringapatam, she challenged the accounts of the Tippoo Sultan’s death and made me realise that the spot marked for that event was in the wrong place. Susan became a dear friend to Judy and myself and we will miss her laughter, her hospitality and her endless ungrudging support. Sharpe will continue without her, but she will be forever missed.