Product Description

The first book in a brand new series, The Last Kingdom is set in England during the reign of King Alfred.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #976 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-03
• 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

Synopsis
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.

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

The Horrible, the Boneless and the Fearless
"The Last Kingdom" is set in ninth century England and sees a Northumbrian nobleman called Uhtred look back to the early part of his life. Uhtred's father, also called Uhtred, was the Ealdorman of a region between the Trent and the Tyne. The family home is called Bebbanburg, a practically impregnable fortress. Although the family are good Christians, the Wolf Banner flies from the fortress - claiming the family's descent from Woden, the Saxon God of War. Since England was made up of several kingdoms at the time, Uhtred was subject to the King of Northumbria - Wessex, East Anglia and Mercia also had their own Kings. Uhtred's story begins in 866, when he was nine years old, on a trip along the coast with his father, his elder brother and Aelfric, an uncle. In a time when priests are praying that God will "spare us from the fury of the Northmen", the three Danish ships they spotted sailing up the coast were obviously a cause for concern. Uhtred's elder brother is sent with a dozen men, scouting after them. However, Uhtred the Elder only wants to know where they land and gives strict instructions to return before nightfall. Unfortunately, his son is snared and one of the Viking warriors kindly delivers his severed head the next day.

When the raiders take the city of Eoferwic a week later, Bebbanburg's army joins a combined Northumbrian force. Unfortunately, it gets suckered at the city, Uhtred the Elder gets killed - along with Northumbria's King and Ealdorman Aella. Uhtred the Younger, our narrator, is taken by the same Viking -Ragnar the Fearless - who killed his brother. The Vikings install Ealdorman Egbert as Northumbria's King - he is, however, only there to do as the Danes tell him.

Uhtred is raised by Ragnar as a son, and he doesn't take too long in adapting to the Viking way of life. He embraces the Viking religion, doesn't miss his father and plainly likes the man who killed his father and his brother. Ragnar already has three children - his eldest of which is already a warrior who is fighting in Ireland. Rorik, his second son, is only a year younger than Uhtred and the pair become good friends.

The Danish expedition is one of conquest, and is being led by two brothers - Ubba and Ivar. Ubba is a fearsome warrior, though superstitious - he will only fight when the signs are right. Ivar, on the other hand, has a little more sense than his brother. As a result, things become complicated for Uhtred. Being raised as a Dane inevitably leads to him fighting against his own countrymen. Northumbria is only the beginning - as time passes, more Danes arrive and the invasions move to Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex. The information they have on Wessex leads them to believe there won't be much resistance. The region has a weak new King, while the King's brother - Alfred - is only concerned with chasing women.

Things are complicated further on the Danish side by Kjarten and his bad-tempered son, Sven. Kjarten commanded one of Ragnar's ships until Sven took a grave liberty with Thyra, Ragnar's daughter. Luckily, Uhtred manages to save her - though Sven isn't let off lightly when Ragnar hears of it. Nevertheless, the father and son pairing will remain enemies for life. Aelfric, Uhtred's uncle, also proves a threat. Since he now smells an opportunity to become Ealdorman himself, he's now quite like to see Uhtred absence from Bebbanburg become a lot more permanent. From early in the book, however, it's clear he plans to win back his rightful home - and also that he owes a great debt to Alfred, his king.

An easily read and a very well-researched book overall, although - naturally - there has been the odd tweak here and there. There only slight weakness was Uhtred's tendency to obsess on certain things - especially shadow-walkers and shield-wall. Life was very different then - for example, priests and bishops didn't remain celibate and your average daughter didn't get too far into her teens without being married off. Sex was obviously a big recreational hobby, though since nothing rude (!!) is ever described in detail those with an innocent mind will make it through unscathed. (Uhtred, amusingly, did once ask a bishop if there were women in Heaven he could hump). A likeable, easily read book.

FANTASTIC, AMAZING, YOU MUST READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!
In a clash of heroes, a kingdom is born, and that kingdom is England. This story is based on real events and exellent research. Set in the 9th century this tells the story of England in the making when the 4 Christian Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England were struggling for survival against the Pagan Vikings. This tells the story of Uhtred,a 10yr old english kid who is destined to be King Alfred's greatest warrior. At the age of 10 Uhtred's family is slaughtered by Vikings and he is raised as a Pagan and trained as a warrior. But Uhtred is torn between his fellow Saxons and the Danes that raised him, but destiny is everything. And he soon finds himself fighting the greatest of the Vikings for a King that doesnt like him or trust him.(I dont want to say too much as this book is full of twists and suprises). This is the best book iv ever read and im looking forward to reading the entire series. It is so brilliantly written that i quickly got engrossed into the story and the characters are amazing, the author makes you care about them, its very violent, anti-christian, pro pagan, pro viking, pro english and it really brings the anglo-saxon period ALIVE and makes you feel you are really there. I cant recommend this book enough, it is fantastic.

After the Grail Quest, Cornwell returns to England's early history with the Last Kingdom
The novel's ninth century setting encourages immediate comparison with his finest work, The Winter King, but in truth the two books are very different. The forlorn tone of his Authurian masterpiece is not present, though the formula remains the same, 1st person narrative as the novel's main character, Uhtred, looks back over his early life and his initial meetings with Alfred.
The novel is packed with Cornwell's trademark blow by blow battles, his skill as a novelist forces you to stand shoulder to shoulder in the Shieldwall and experience the excitement, feat and exhiliration of early medieval conflict.

The character of Uhtred is not dissimilar to Derfel Cadarn, the tale beginning when he is a boy and documents his trials and tribulations as he grows to become a warrior. There are plenty of other interesting characters, Danish warrior kings, Ealdormen, priests and the unusually hard to like Alfred. I am interested to see where Cornwell goes with his characterisation of England's greatest monarch and hero, Alfred, the only English king to be granted the title, Great.

A good start to a new series, but for me it lacks that emotional attachment of the Warlord Chronicles. The plot kept me interested to the end, as do all his novels, and it was fantatsic to see this excellent author writing about my home town (Wareham) in one of his novels.

I would also recommend, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it. I look forward to the next installment of this series and would recommend the volume to those who have enjoyed his books in the past and to anyone who enjoys a good tale.