Saxon Tales #5
Harper
January 2010
On Sale: January 19, 2010
Featuring: King Alfred of Wessex; Uhtred; Ragnar
352 pages ISBN: 0060888741 EAN: 9780060888749 Kindle: B0033V4SE2 Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in
ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the
Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance
for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald
Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred's
reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and
handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats.
For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by
tragedy. Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings,
swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he
will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian
coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar—and his old foe
Haesten—he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself.
Yet fate has different plans. The Danes of East Anglia and
the Vikings of Northumbria are plotting the conquest of all
Britain. When Alfred's daughter pleads with Uhtred for help,
he cannot refuse her request. In a desperate gamble, he
takes command of a demoralized Mercian army, leading them in
an unforgettable battle on a blood-soaked field beside the
Thames.
In The Burning Land, Bernard Cornwell, "the reigning king of
historical fiction" (USA Today), delivers a rousing saga of
Anglo-Saxon England—an irresistible new chapter in his
thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of
England and the legendary king who made it possible.