Dear Mr. Cornwell, Thank you for many hours of reading enjoyment. Your books bring the past to life. And I must admit that I fell in love with Derfel, despite the fact he bathed infrequently. There is an element in both the Arthur and Grail Quest books that has detracted from my overall enjoyment. In each story you have a minor character with a cleft lip. You use this birth defect as a way of 'enhancing' the character's repugnance. As the mother of a child born with this defect, I couldn't help but cringe when I read the description, not once but twice in two different trilogies. Perhaps my reaction is unjustified, but it is a real one. I would appreciate your comments on this. Sincerely, S. Martin
No offence meant - I didn't even realise I'd done it twice. Part of it is the undeniable and not very nice truth that ancient societies frequently regarded disfigurement as an outward sign of an inward character flaw. We may not like it, but it's true, and second, of course, it's a disfigurement that we rarely see any more so it doesn't seem covered by the strictures of political correctness. But nothing's meant by it, any more than by Trollope's evident distrust of red hair.