Death of Kings

Death of Kings
Bernard Cornwell

The master of historical fiction presents the iconic story of King Alfred and the making of a nation.Alfred, the great king, is said to be dying. Rivals for his succession are poised to tear the kingdom apart. The country Alfred has worked thirty years to build is about to disintegrate.Uhtred, the King’s warrior, Viking born but Saxon bred, wants more than anything else to go and fight to reclaim his stolen Northumbrian inheritance. But he knows that if he deserts the King’s cause, Alfred’s dream – and indeed the very future of the English nation – will very likely vanish.Death of Kings is an outstanding novel by a master storyteller of how England was made – and very nearly lost.

DEATH OF KINGS

BERNARD CORNWELL

Copyright (#ulink_1ed9ddfc-fb9e-5282-bf4d-87b9379a0591)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by

HarperCollinsPublishers 2011

Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 2011

Map © John Gilkes 2011

Bernard Cornwell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it, while at times based on historical figures, are the work of the author’s imagination.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007331802

Ebook Edition © September 2011 ISBN: 9780007331826

Version: 2017-05-05

DEATH OF KINGS

is for Anne LeClaire,

Novelist and Friend,

who supplied the first line.

CONTENTS

Cover (#u234dd35f-466d-5efa-ad75-adb9bbe556a3)

Title Page (#ub15979a5-4d10-575d-91a5-8ee47852cc2d)

Copyright (#u667e7f65-7a3b-5c1d-9e14-8f331f9f6460)

Dedication (#u1def5e2c-3d03-5c96-89a6-02deadf63090)

Map (#ucc2abaf4-d9f6-573e-a23b-2bd60f44159f)

The Royal Family of Wessex (#ub398ea0a-b1f2-5f57-bcd3-b94494a17bf4)

Place Names (#u9d5b7ffb-9676-51d6-a853-b18e170fd5bc)

Part One: THE SORCERESS (#u33b88edf-ba73-5d04-9cc3-6177b320345e)

Chapter One (#ufc01cf4a-185f-5b89-bcde-634dd3384f28)

Chapter Two (#ub3a83ca9-148b-56d0-bedc-e524a6223d43)

Chapter Three (#uf335da12-a376-5846-8b63-7cc9d23e0867)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Two: DEATH OF A KING (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three: ANGELS (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Four: DEATH IN WINTER (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Note (#litres_trial_promo)