The Pagan Lord

The Pagan Lord
Bernard Cornwell

The seventh novel in Bernard Cornwell’s number one bestselling series on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.BBC2’s major Autumn 2015 TV show THE LAST KINGDOM is based on the first two books in the series.Uhtred – sword of the Saxons, bane of the Vikings – has been declared outcast.Peace in Britain has given Uhtred time to cause trouble – for himself. Branded a pagan abomination by the church, he sails north. For, despite suspecting that Viking leader Cnut Longsword will attack the Saxons again, Uhtred is heading for Bebbanburg, fearing that if he does not act now he will never reclaim his stolen birthright.Yet Uhtred’s fate is bound to the Saxons. To Aethelflaed, bright lady of Mercia and to a dead king’s dream of England. For great battles must still be fought – and no man is better at that than Uhtred.Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s mind is as sharp as his sword. A thorn in the side of the priests and nobles who shape his fate, this Saxon raised by Vikings is torn between the life he loves and those he has sworn to serve.

THE PAGAN LORD

BERNARD CORNWELL

Copyright (#ulink_90f86b4f-128a-548a-a407-827f9ea9d74f)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

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

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013

Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 2013

Maps © John Gilkes 2013

Family tree © Colin Hall 2009

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013

Cover illustration © Lee Gibbons/Tin Moon - www.leegibbons.co.uk (http://www.leegibbons.co.uk)

Jacket photograph © Shuttershock.com (http://Shuttershock.com) (digitally altered)

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

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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, down-loaded, 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: 9780007331925

Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780007331949

Version: 2017-05-06

Dedication (#ulink_631a5582-b1c0-5f14-b93f-536dbd243bb9)

THE PAGAN LORD

is for Tom and Dana

CONTENTS

Cover (#u646e9b82-64d8-5888-8d21-71e9f95e0904)

Title Page (#u0a826d16-beb4-5fcf-92fd-46caeb9b9490)

Copyright (#u13b982d7-4668-5d21-9398-ee0bae641b97)

Dedication (#u1f35069d-38d5-5cba-8190-58ec2237e9be)

Place Names (#uc3967ada-8792-58bc-b13c-49feb0f546eb)

Map (#u81fd8fd5-e27b-5014-bb93-ad05d43acff6)

The Royal Family of Wessex (#uf2828a37-9361-5754-91f6-bf1325a422c9)

Part One: THE ABBOT (#uff3fedc7-0b6a-56d9-87b3-d99b2722985f)

Chapter One (#ub4947a8b-6b64-5832-9f6c-0a0bfb7c9243)

Chapter Two (#u94c3c51e-e832-59d3-9cc1-c2eeaf4f3cd9)

Part Two: MIDDELNIHT (#uf537fcbc-9ad6-5d3f-a8aa-336617e7fd79)

Chapter Three (#u254be509-1b4e-5897-aad3-5d229251f3ef)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three: RUMOURS OF WAR (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Four: ICE-SPITE (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)