Cornwell, Bernard. The Last Kingdom. London: HarperCollins, 2004.

When ten year old Uhtred is captured by invading Danes, his fate is forever changed. In this historical adventure, Uhtred travels from one end of England to the other and back again, internally torn whether he is truly English, or if his Danish adolescence has overtaken any loyalty he once had. Within the context of Danish invasion, Cornwell introduces England’s one “great” king, Alfred, King of Wessex.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was well paced and satisfyingly full of historical details that fans of historical fiction crave. I really enjoyed the main character, Uhtred, and enjoyed that Cornwell is telling a bigger tale within this book. I look forward to the rest in the series.