Uhtred’s Feast: Inside the world of The Last Kingdom

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The Last Kingdomis based on a long-running series of novels by Bernard Cornwell titled The Saxon Stories, which spans 13 books. The Netflix show only covered the first 10 of them, which is where the movie comes in; it will combine events from Cornwell’s final three books to wrap up Uhtred’s story. The stories I did like and thought they all worked quite well for me, a short story collection of events throughout his life would make a nice read I think. Cornwell was born in London in 1944. His father was a Canadian airman, and his mother, who was English, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted and brought up in Essex by the Wiggins family, who were members of the Peculiar People, a strict Protestant sect who banned frivolity of all kinds and even medicine. After he left them, he changed his name to his birth mother's maiden name, Cornwell. The final Last Kingdom book was published in 2020, but for the author the story felt unfinished: there were some Uhtred tales he still wanted to tell, and over the course of writing the books he’d become fascinated by some elements of the Anglo-Saxon world that it wasn’t possible to fully explore in the novels.

The final Last Kingdom book was published in 2020, but for the author the story felt unfinished: there were some Uhtred tales he still wanted to tell, and over the course of writing the books he'd become fascinated by some elements of the Anglo-Saxon world that it wasn't possible to fully explore in the novels. My name is Uhtred. I am the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred . . .Fictional history is not real history, novelists leave that to real historians, but our books must be authentic, and authenticity is in the mundane details: What did they wear? How did they travel? What did they eat?’

In this engaging social history New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, “the most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today” (Wall Street Journal), completes his epic Last Kingdom series with this companion book featuring three exclusive short stories and sixty recipes that bring Uhtred’s world to life as never before.The first section provided a fascinating introduction of a brief overview of the history of England. This was especially with regards to how it tied in with the Last Kingdom books. It is wonderful to be provided with the author's thoughts and feelings towards this character that we have all grown to love so much. This book gave Cornwell the opportunity to investigate further into the day to day living of the time. It’s a pretty exciting time for fans of The Last Kingdom. After a successful five-season run on Netflix, the popular historical drama will return next month with the film Seven Kings Must Die, which will wrap up the long journey of Uhtred of Bebbanburg.