Product Description

The first book in a brand new series, The Last Kingdom is set in England during the reign of King Alfred. Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault. The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between christianity and paganism is the background to Uhtred's growing up. He is left uncertain of his loyalties but a slaughter in a winter dawn propels him to the English side and he will become a man just as the Danes launch their fiercest attack yet on Alfred's kingdom. Marriage ties him further still to the West Saxon cause but when his wife and child vanish in the chaos of the Danish invasion, Uhtred is driven to face the greatest of the Viking chieftains in a battle beside the sea. There, in the horror of the shield-wall, he discovers his true allegiance. The Last Kingdom, like most of Bernard Cornwell's books, is firmly based on true history. It is the first novel of a series that will tell the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants and of the enemies they faced, Viking warriors like Ivar the Boneless and his feared brother, Ubba. Against their lives Bernard Cornwell has woven a story of divided loyalties, reluctant love and desperate heroism. In Uhtred, he has created one of his most interesting and heroic characters and in The Last Kingdom one of his most powerful and passionate novels.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #867 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Does the fact that the The Last Kingdom inaugurates yet another series from Bernard Cornwell fill you with anticipation--or trepidation? His immensely popular Sharpe novels are, of course, the bedrock of the author’s popularity. But when readers learned that he was to abandon the redoubtable Sharpe for a Grail Quest series, there were those who invoked the ‘if isn’t broke, why fix it?’ rule. However, when Cornwell proved himself equally adept at conjuring a world of knights and savage combat, his Grail Quest series (the first book of which was Harlequin) soon established itself as another Cornwell winner.

And here’s yet another series from the protean writer. Do we really need it? Yes, we do--it’s a safe bet that The Last Kingdom will prove that the author is seemingly capable of beginning an endless run of new novel sequences. As well as the impeccably plotted narrative, Cornwell has other fish to fry here: nothing less than a totally fresh look at a historical figure we think we know: Alfred the Great. Cornwell’s protagonist is Uhtred, caught in the conflict between the Danes and the English in the ninth century. He is born into the English aristocracy, but loses his parents at the age of ten and is raised in Viking fashion by a Dane. When massacres reign down on both sides, Uhtred is torn between his loyalties--and when his family disappears, a reckoning with a Viking chieftain is in the offing.

Behind all this is the King, Alfred: complex, conflicted, and by no means the figure that the conventional history books render him. All of the customary Cornwell virtues are fully on display here.--Barry Forshaw

Review
'Cornwell is a virtuoso of historical fiction.' Sunday Telegraph 'Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation.' Daily Mail 'Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched.' Observer

From the Publisher
The Last Kingdom, like most of Bernard Cornwell's books, is firmly based on true history. It is the first novel of a series that will tell the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants and of the enemies they faced, Viking warriors like Ivar the Boneless and his feared brother, Ubba. Against their lives Bernard Cornwell has woven a story of divided loyalties, reluctant love and desperate heroism. In Uhtred, he has created one of his most interesting and heroic characters and in The Last Kingdom one of his most powerful and passionate novels.

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable historical fiction book...
This new series from Bernard Cornwell focuses on 9th Century Britain and the onset of the Viking invasion and settlement in a move that would split the country into Wessex and the Danelaw, and how Alfred started to develop into the "great" king he became.

The story follows a young boy called Uhtred, as his family deal with the invasion, and without giving away too much of the plot the paths his life takes because of the invasion, crossing the paths of both Dane leaders and Saxon ones.

I have seen criticism that this book is the same formula as all Bernard Cornwell's other books. I won't deny that it DOES follow the same style of story development and characterization as previous books such as "Sharpe" and the Holy Grail trilogy. However the real beauty of these books is the weaving of a fictional story into actual chronicled history, and Mr.Cornwell is a master at this.

We meet such real historical characters as King Alfred, Guthrum and there's a wonderful take on the death of King Edmund of East Anglia.
The way this book has been written you can truly see the Danes and the Saxons in your mind, hear them, touch their clothes and even smell them, such is the wonderful ambience that comes from reading the book.

If you're looking for something original and unconventional then this book may not be for you....but generally speaking historical novels like these can't be too original. If, however you are a fan of history and love delving into thinking about possibilities within history that are not black and white, then you'll love this book.

I'm really looking forward to the second book in this series.

A great story, especially for the B rits....
Some say, its the "same old, same old". Others tell it correctly. Its the work (again) of the leader of Historical Fiction, at his best. I do have a critissism however. The book ended, as books will. Far too soon for me.
I tried reading slowly, but it still only lasted a couple of days. Sad. Its exciting and yes, of course, its following in the time loved tradition of the "young fella growing up to be a man, etc. etc. etc.", thats just how these books are written. Would we really want to change that?
Anyhow, being about my favorite Author, Bernard Cornwell can do no wrong, so I just cant wait for the next two books in this trilogy.
This story is tight, the charactors are so real you can smell them and if my memory serves me well, the history is pretty close to how we were told it at school too. Alfred, later known as the "Great", the conflicts the transgressions, are all there.
I am quite purposely NOT going into the plot, or the story, as there are obviously plenty of you Cornwell fans out there who havent read the book yet. So Im not going to be the one who gives anything away.
Just buy it, you wont be sorry, also, Amazon were selling the hardback for the price of a decent bottle of wine, way to go Amazon...

PulpKult....

When's the next one due?!
This is Cornwell at his best. Its the 1st installment in what I hope will be a lengthy series, following the life of a young Saxon boy in the 9th Century. Son of a minor noble-man he is captured by the invading Northmen (better known, if incorrectly so, as Vikings) and brought up as one of them but returns to his country men after his adopted father is betrayed by one of his own people.

This first volume, chronicling the Northmen as they attempt to conquer the 4 kingdoms of England is immensely gripping (I finished it 1 day) and includes great characterisations as well as the sort of information about post Roam England that made his Arthur series so unmissable. The last book by Cornwell I read was Stonehenge and this is so much better than that, as good as the Arthur books and probably better than most of the early Sharpes.