The new novel in Bernard Cornwell's number one bestselling series The Warrior Chronicles, on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. In the battle for power, there can be only one ruler. The ruler of Mercia is dying, leaving no apparent heir. His wife is a born leader, but no woman has ever ruled over an English kingdom. And she is without her greatest warrior and champion, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. An empty throne leaves the kingdom exposed to rival West Saxons and to the Vikings, who are on a bloody rampage once more. A hero is needed, a hero who has been in battle all his life, who can destroy the double threat to Mercia. A hero who will ultimately decide the fate of a nation...

The latest in the bestselling Alfred series from number one historical novelist, Bernard Cornwell. In the last years of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth. The Danes, who have failed so many times to conquer Wessex, smell opportunity! First comes Harald Bloodhair, a savage warrior leading a Viking horde, who is encouraged to cruelty by his woman, Skade. But Alfred still has the services of Uhtred, his unwilling warlord, who leads Harald into a trap and, at Farnham in Surrey, inflicts one of the greatest defeats the Vikings were ever to suffer. This novel, the fifth in the magnificent series of England's history tells of the final assaults on Alfred's Wessex, that Wessex survived to become England is because men like Uhtred d

The new novel in Bernard Cornwell's number one bestselling series The Warrior Chronicles, on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. At the dawn of the tenth century Britain stands as a divided realm. The Danes rule the north, the Saxons, led by King Edward of Wessex, hold the south. But the uneasy peace cannot hold. Uhtred, the late King Alfred's celebrated warrior, must journey across Britain to recapture his ancestral home and the greatest fortress of the north, Bebbanburg. But the Viking lord Cnut Longsword is raising an army and, as his battle-leaders unite, loyalties will be divided and men will fall, as every Saxon kingdom is drawn into a bloody clash with the Danes. And it is Uhtred, lord of the outcasts, who will decide the fate of the natio