War novelists

sir – Perhaps the most notable novelist inspired by the First World War (Letters, August 20) is Henry Williamson.

The Patriot’s Progress, illustrated by the Australian artist William Kermode, is uncompromisingly dark. More balanced were the five volumes that cover the war in his 15-volume

A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. It contains one of the finest portrayals in fiction of the Battle of Flanders. Anthony Burgess included the series in his 99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939.

The novels can be found online, and some are being reissued in paperback by Faber. Roger Harrison

Guildford, Surrey