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The Last Kingdom

By Bernard Cornwell

(14)

| Hardcover | 9780060530518

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Book Description

From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times bestselling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today," comes a saga of blood, rage, fidelity, and betrayal that brings to center stage King Alfred the Great, one of the most crucial (but oft-fContinue

From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times bestselling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today," comes a saga of blood, rage, fidelity, and betrayal that brings to center stage King Alfred the Great, one of the most crucial (but oft-forgotten) figures in English history. It is King Alfred and his heirs who, in the ninth and tenth centuries, with their backs against the wall, fought to secure the survival of the last outpost of Anglo-Saxon culture by battling the ferocious Vikings, whose invading warriors had already captured and occupied three of England's four kingdoms.

Bernard Cornwell's epic novel opens in A.D. 866. Uhtred, a boy of ten and the son of a nobleman, is captured in the same battle that leaves his father dead. His captor is the Earl Ragnar, a Danish chieftain, who raises the boy as his own, teaching him the Viking ways of war. As a young man expected to take part in raids and bloody massacres against the English, he grapples with divided loyalties -- between Ragnar, the warrior he loves like a father, and Alfred, whose piety and introspection leave him cold. It takes a terrible slaughter and the unexpected joys of marriage for Uhtred to discover his true allegiance -- and to rise to his greatest challenge.

In Uhtred, Cornwell has created perhaps his richest and most complex protagonist, and through him, he has magnificently evoked an era steeped in dramatic pageantry and historical significance. For if King Alfred fails to defend his last kingdom, England will be overrun, and the entire course of history will change.

Critics

  • Hits and myths

    The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell 400pp, HarperCollins, £17.99 Our first sight of King Alfred in Bernard Cornwell's historical novel, The Last Kingdom, is of him crouched shamefully outside a tent, moaning in pain, vomiting, and grovelling for God ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • Bookreporter.com - THE LAST KINGDOM by Bernard Cornwell

    Name the Kings of England. Well, there's mad old George III, who lost the Revolutionary War. That's one. And Henry VII, everyone remembers him. After that, there's King James, who we recall from his version of the Bible, and the one who gave up his c ... (read full critics)

    bookreporter published on Thu, 2 Sep 2010

2 Reviews

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  • cornwell sets the story in the IX century but repeats much of what he'd written in his Arthurian trilogy: shield walls, barbaric rites, bad catholicism and a heroic warring protagonist.</p><p>good, fast novel, not too original but never banal nor predictable.</p><p>honestly, ... (continue)

    cornwell sets the story in the IX century but repeats much of what he'd written in his Arthurian trilogy: shield walls, barbaric rites, bad catholicism and a heroic warring protagonist.</p><p>good, fast novel, not too original but never banal nor predictable.</p><p>honestly, i dont know if i'll go ahead with the next 2 volumes.

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    crus said on Oct 26, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Pleasant read set in the year 866 depicting the struggle between the English and the Danes, and the strife between Christianity and paganism. I particularly enjoyed the references to York (“Eoferwic”): “Eoferwic was, and still is, the chief city of northern England. It possesses a great abbey, an ar ... (continue)

    Pleasant read set in the year 866 depicting the struggle between the English and the Danes, and the strife between Christianity and paganism. I particularly enjoyed the references to York (“Eoferwic”): “Eoferwic was, and still is, the chief city of northern England. It possesses a great abbey, an archbishop, a fortress, high walls, and a vast market. It stands beside the River Ouse, and boasts a bridge (…)” Well, not much has changed since then, has it?

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    wgeddert said on Jul 21, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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