Thank you for this! I really wasn't looking forward to reading it, I've become to fed up with these false views of heroism in our books which seem to be based entirely on 21st century time spent at the gym. So I do so appreciate what you've written here.
One of the things I always seek to explore in my books is the true heroism of the ordinary chap. Not the super- heroes, but the fellows who get it wrong but keep trying, often against all the odds--the chaps who overwork, are intelligent but maybe not so emotionally smart, who go out there amongst the horror (I write about the Napoleonic wars and Austen's England at war) and even though they're in way over their heads, they're determined to do the right thing. And they do it. I have such admiration for these characters--and when I'm writing them, I try always to bear in mind that wonderful old Arab saying about stories: "Stories teach us how to live." And thay do. So thank you.
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