The Last Kingdom (Alfred the Great 1) Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Last Kingdom (Alfred the Great 1) Book

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 ForshawRead More

from£7.89 | RRP: £7.99
* Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £2.78
  • Amazon

    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 bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the English kingdom to survive the Danish assault. This book is set in England during the reign of King Alfred.

  • Play

    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.

  • Foyles

    The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions. A hero will be forged from this broken land. As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world. In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one. Alfred - Saxon, king, man of god - fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners. Uhtred and Alfred's fates are tangled, soaked in blood and blackened by the flames of war. Together they will change history.

  • ASDA

    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 bound up with Alfred King of Wessex who rules over the English kingdom to survive the Danish assault. This book is set in England during the reign of King Alfred.

  • BookDepository

    The Last Kingdom : Paperback : HarperCollins Publishers : 9780007218011 : : 20 Mar 2006 : The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions. A hero will be forged from this broken land. As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.

  • 000721801X
  • 9780007218011
  • Bernard Cornwell
  • 27 May 2010
  • HarperCollins
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 352
  • (Reissue)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.

Would you like your name to appear with the review?

We will post your book review within a day or so as long as it meets our guidelines and terms and conditions. All reviews submitted become the licensed property of www.find-book.co.uk as written in our terms and conditions. None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.

All form fields are required.