Dear Mr Cornwell
I am a British thriller writer (11 published novels for adults and a trilogy of books for young adults) and admirer of your work. Like you, I have family roots in the north of England as my ancestors were Surtees who, as you may be aware from your research for your Uhtred books, were descended from Siward, the Dane who married Aelfled, the granddaughter of Uhtred, and became Earl of Northumbria in the 11th century.
One of my more recent ancestors was a William Surtees, born in Corbridge in 1781, who was a quartermaster in the Rifle Brigade during the Peninsular War and wrote a book about his experiences, entitled “Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade”, that was published in 1833. I don’t know whether you’ve ever come across the book as part of your research for your Sharpe novels, but it is a well written account of his years of service, covering many of the great campaigns of the Pensinsular War and a few others, including the Battle of New Orleans.
My family has a copy of the original 1833 edition, but the book is still in print as a facsimile edition. I only recently read it and was intrigued to discover that a real soldier named Sharpe features in the pages. On page 4, preparing to leave England for Holland in 1799, Surtees writes, ”That in which my company was placed consisted of eleven light companies, the command of which was given to Lieut-Col. Sharpe, of the 9th regiment, an experienced and gallant veteran.“
And later, on page 19, while fighting in Holland, he describes an incident when an enemy shell lands very close to “where Colonel Sharpe and another officer were walking; it lay for a second or two hissing and burning, and might be expected every moment to explode. Their road lay close past it; the veteran however took no notice of it, but continued his walk and conversation the same as if nothing had occurred, and without going an inch out of his way. It burst with a tremendous report, but fortunately without doing either of them the least injury. I confess I thought it rather too brave; for it appeared to me that he might have walked a little farther from it, or stopped for a moment or two without any imputation on his courage; but people do not all see things exactly alike.”
This struck me as something your own Sharpe would have done. I know you named him after an England rugby player, but it seems a strange coincidence that there really was a soldier of that name at the time who was equally insouciant in the face of danger.
With all good wishes
Yours sincerely
Paul Adam