Author Stories Podcast Episode 763 | Bernard Cornwell Returns With Sword Of Kings


On today’s show, Bernard Cornwell returns to the show to talk about the new book Sword of Kings: A Novel (Saxon Tales Book 12).

The twelfth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England—”superior entertainment that is both engaging and enlightening” (Washington Post), and  the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit Netflix series.

It is a time of political turmoil once more as the fading King Edward begins to lose control over his successors and their supporters. There are two potential heirs—possibly more—and doubt over whether the once separate states of Wessex and Mercia will hold together . Despite attempts at pulling him into the political fray, Uhtred of Bebbanburg cares solely about his beloved Northumbria and its continuing independence from southern control.

But an oath is a strong, almost sacred commitment and such a promise had been exchanged between Uhtred and Aethelstan, his onetime companion in arms and now a potential king. Uhtred was tempted to ignore the demands of the oath and stay in his northern fastness, leaving the quarrelling Anglo-Saxons to sort out their own issues.  But an attack on him by a leading supporter of one of the candidates and an unexpected appeal for help from another, drives Uhtred with a small band of warriors south, into the battle for kingship—and England’s fate.

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Waterloo, 1356, Agincourt, and The Fort; the bestselling Saxon Tales, which include The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song, The Burning Land, Death of Kings, The Pagan Lord, The Empty Throne, Warriors of the Storm, The Flame Bearer, War of the Wolf and Sword of Kings; and the Richard Sharpe novels, among many others. His Saxon series books have been produced into a popular and highly acclaimed series on Netflix. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina. Visit him on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bernard.cornwell; Website: www.bernardcornwell.net

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