Sword of Kings – the 12th instalment of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England.

About the book

Uhtred of Bebbanburg is a man of his word.

An oath bound him to King Alfred. An oath bound him to Æthelflaed. And now an oath will wrench him away from the ancestral home he fought so hard to regain. For Uhtred has sworn that on King Edward’s death, he will kill two men. And now Edward is dying.

A violent attack drives Uhtred south with a small band of warriors, and headlong into the battle for kingship. Plunged into a world of shifting alliances and uncertain loyalties, he will need all his strength and guile to overcome the fiercest warrior of them all.

As two opposing Kings gather their armies, fate drags Uhtred to London, and a struggle for control that must leave one King victorious, and one dead. But fate – as Uhtred has learned to his cost – is inexorable. Wyrd bið ful ãræd. And Uhtred’s destiny is to stand at the heart of the shield wall once again …

‘A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined.’ – Washington Post

‘The best battle scenes of any writer I’ve ever read, past or present. Cornwell really makes history come alive.’ – George RR Martin

‘Cornwell draws a fascinating picture of England as it might have been before anything like England existed.’ – The Times

‘He’s called a master storyteller. Really he’s cleverer than that.’ – Telegraph

‘A reminder of just how good a writer he is.’ – Sunday Times

‘Nobody in the world does this better than Cornwell.’ – Lee Child

Bernard Cornwell was born in London in the United Kingdom, raised in Essex and worked for the BBC for 11 years before meeting Judy, his American wife. Denied an American work permit he wrote a novel instead and has been writing ever since. He and Judy divide their time between Cape Cod and Charleston, South Carolina.

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