The Last Kingdom

Destiny is All

The Last Kingdom is the first historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. First published in 2004 the story introduces Uhtred Ragnarson. A man born a Saxon then kidnapped by raiding Danes who raise him from age 11, teaching him how to be a warrior.

Plot summary866 - 876: Osbert is 9 years old and the second son of Ealdorman Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg in Northumbria. Danes raid Bebbanburg. Ealdorman Uhtred's first son, also called Uhtred, is killed and his body desecrated after he is sent out to scout the raiders. Osbert is now the oldest son of Ealdorman Uhtred and is renamed Uhtred. Ealdorman Uhtred seeks to avenge his son's death. He is killed during the failed attack on Eoferwic (York) and Uhtred is captured by Earl Ragnar the Fearless of the Danes. Ragnar, intrigued and amused by the boy's attempted attack on him during the battle, retains him in his household. Uhtred's uncle, Ælfric, takes Bebbanburg and the title of Ealdorman for himself although Uhtred is the rightful heir.Uhtred describes his life among the Danes. Moving to the country with Ragnar and his men, working like a slave and fighting with other boys, slaves and Danes alike. Uhtred befriends Ragnar's youngest son Rorik. He has many clashes with one boy in particular, Sven, son of Kjartan, a shipmaster in Ragnar's small fleet. One day, Sven kidnaps Ragnar's daughter, Thyra, and removes part of her clothing to sexually assault her. Uhtred charges Sven from hiding, taking Sven's sword and attacking him with it. Uhtred, Rorik, and Thyra escape back to Ragnar's hall. Ragnar, offended and angry, banishes Kjartan from his service. He crushes one of Sven's eyes with the hilt of his sword - adding that he would have crushed both, had Sven stripped Thyra completely naked.Uhtred then goes viking across East Anglia, and participates in the conquests of Mercia and East Anglia, and the invasion of Wessex. He is kidnapped by a priest, Beocca, an old family friend. He then escapes from Wessex and joins his adopted father Ragnar again. Uhtred enjoys life with the Danes but flees after Kjartan kills Ragnar in revenge, burning down his hall with his former lord inside.Uhtred hopes to escape Kjartan's assassins by spreading the rumor that he too died in the hall-burning. Uhtred then joins King Alfred in Wessex. There he learns to read and write, and sails with Alfred's fleet of 12 ships against the Danes. After a battle with the Danes he again meets Ragnar the Younger, Earl Ragnar's eldest son, and tells him how his father died. They part friends, swearing that one day they will band together to take revenge on Kjartan. Seeking to take command of the fleet, Uhtred gains it on the condition that he marry the orphaned Wessex girl Mildrith, whose family is in debt to the Church. After doing so, he takes part in a siege against Guthrum, and is among a group of hostages exchanged when the Danes and Saxons agree on peace. Staying with the Danes in the city over winter he again meets Ragnar, who saves him from death when Guthrum breaks the peace and murders the other Saxon hostages. Uhtred then escapes to find his wife. She was taken by Odda the Younger, another Wessex ealdorman (earl or noble), to the north. There he fights in the battle at Cynwit, where Uhtred finds himself fighting against Ubba Lothbrokson's Danes.

This was my first introduction to this prolific author. It kept my interest from the very beginning and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Along with all the action, Cornwell has an eloquent writing style, using the dramatic first-person narrative in a magnificent early medieval setting. Kudos to Bernard Cornwell for making such a wonderful series. The story feels grounded in the history and attitudes of the time. There is a great deal of extreme violence, including a lot of rape and pillage and some gory battle scenes. Cornwell manages to achieve a sense of the brutality of the time without lingering on the details. And Uhtred is a believable but conflicted protagonist who helps Alfred to greatness

Do yourself a favour and read it!