Staff Pick

The Last Kingdom (Last Kingdom (formerly Saxon Tales) #1)

Bernard Cornwell

$18.00

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2006

Publisher:

Harper Paperbacks

ISBN:

9780060887186

Pages:

368

Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Staff Reviews

This exciting tale takes place in 9th century England, and the Danes are attacking. Young Uhtred is kidnapped by the pagan Danes, and his father is slaughtered. He is taken as a slave, but even as a slave is shown more love than he had in his ancestral home of Bebbanburg. Ragnor, his master, decides to adopt Uhtred formally. Now he is Uhtred Ragnarson. He is sent to fight and goes up against his own countrymen. Uhtred is torn, is he a Dane, or is he English? When disaster strikes and Ragnar is murdered, Uhtred is cast aside by most of the Danes. He has been blamed for the murder of his adoptive father, and with angry Danes at his back, looking for revenge, he runs back to the English. In turn, the English do not trust the young Saxon boy who, in their eyes, turned his back on his country, his king, and their god. Every choice Uhtred makes greatly shapes him, and his life. Where will he turn? Will he once again become an Englishman, and lay claim to the Bebbanburg throne? Or will he return to the Danes, who raised him?

— Alysha L.

Description

The first installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit Netflix series.

In the middle years of the ninth century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.

From New York Times bestselling storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds.

About the Author

BERNARD CORNWELL is the author of over fifty novels, including the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales, which serve as the basis for the hit Netflix series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.

Praise for The Last Kingdom (Last Kingdom (formerly Saxon Tales) #1)

“Intoxicating….Thrilling….Cornwell conveys the disquiet of change and the melancholy of extinction as few historical novelists manage to.” — Washington Post Book World

“Enter Cornwell’s vividly drawn ninth-century Kingdom … after this dip into the Dark Ages, we want to go back.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Enthralling ... the desperate, heroic struggle of Alfred “the Great” ... against the seemingly invincible Vikings. — Wall Street Journal

“History comes alive.” — Boston Globe

“A crackling good storyteller.” — Publishers Weekly

“Cornwell .... makes the usually gloomy ninth century sound like a hell of a lot of fun.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Highly recommended … another great historical series in the making.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Masterful....[An]irresistible epic adventure....Cornwell deserves praise for his mesmerizing narrative finesse and his authentic historical detailing.” — Booklist