Letter: Wartime tales of mud and sex

VANESSA THORPE'S suppositions about my intentions in my novel Land Girls are wide of the mark ("Land girls in rush to tell all", 10 May). The novel "lent weight to a few wartime legends", she says. What legends? In all my researches I have heard of no legends nor mentioned any. There were three girls in the book, not two as reported, and only one fell in love with the farmer's son. There is no suggestion they were "sex mad". Indeed, I've had many letters from ex-land girls saying that there was much more sex than I recounted.

Land girls were denied official recognition afforded to other services. I made two documentary films about them and manywere delighted to be focused upon at last, and grateful for a book that gives an accurate picture of their experiences. Far from wishing to titillate, I like to think I have done them some service.