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Sword of Kings

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251:), is dying. There are three strong candidates to succeed him: Edward's vicious adult son Ælfweard by his second wife; Æthelstan, Edward's eldest son by his first wife (though many incorrectly believe he is illegitimate); and Edmund, Edward's infant son by Queen Eadgifu of Mercia. Uhtred has raised Æthelstan and trained him to be king, so Æthelhelm had tried to preemptively remove Æthelstan's most effective supporter. 25: 270:
Uhtred's party hides, then steals a ship and flees. By bad luck, Waormund sees him and sets out in pursuit with a large force. Eventually, Uhtred is trapped. He gives himself up so his men (as well as women and children he took responsibility for) have a chance to get away. Waormund humiliates him,
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Uhtred heads to Lundene (London), which is held by Æthelstan's men. He spots Waormund there, but Waormund gets away. Uhtred becomes concerned when he discovers that Merewalh, the commander of the garrison, has taken most of his men and marched east, having been deceived into believing that an enemy
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A fishing ship from Bebbanburg goes missing. Then the body of one of its crew washes ashore; it is clear the fisherman had been tortured before being killed. Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg, goes to sea to investigate, then sets a trap for those responsible. He and his warriors kill or capture the crews
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Eadgifu sends a message to Uhtred, begging for his help. Over the objections of his wife and friends, he heads south, as he also gave his oath to kill Æthelhelm upon the death of Edward (though he knows only that Edward is in very poor health), accompanied by Finan and a handful of his men. They
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Uhtred persuades Merewalh to give him 180 of his warriors and to agree to his plan to attack Lundene, despite being seriously outnumbered. They have no real choice, as Æthelhelm keeps growing stronger as reinforcements continue arriving. Messengers are sent to fetch Æthelstan's army, which is
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and have no real stomach for battle; as Uhtred had hoped, they stay out of the fighting. Æthelstan wins. Æthelhelm is killed trying to flee, while Ælfweard is captured and personally executed by his half-brother Æthelstan.
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rescue Eadgifu from capture by Æthelhelm's men and flee. Then Uhtred receives the news that Edward is dead. Edward's will gives the kingdoms of Wessex and East Anglia to Ælfweard and
244:Æthelhelm ordered Waormund, a huge, sadistic warrior and one of his most trusted men, to try to kill Uhtred. Waormund tortured the fisherman and was aboard the ship that got away. 46: 271:
but does not kill him immediately, as he wants to do so before a much larger audience, in Lundene. Fortunately, some of Merewalh's cavalrymen show up and free Uhtred.
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army is approaching. Before Uhtred can do anything, Waormund and his men open one of the city's gates, letting in Æthelhelm's army. The city falls.
223:. This novel begins with his investigating the murder of fishermen under his protection. He then gets drawn into an expected succession struggle in 1292: 1242: 1287: 35: 275:
supposed to be nearby. Uhtred and his men ride boldly into the city, masquerading as some of Æthelhelm's allies. They seize a city gate -
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Uhtred is told that an outbreak of the plague in the north has claimed his wife, son-in-law and grandchildren.
279:- and hold it long enough for Æthelstan to charge through. During the ensuing battle, Uhtred kills Waormund in 724: 677: 667: 945: 830: 714: 693: 878: 685: 444: 1210: 988: 701: 606: 550: 929: 1023: 732: 646: 598: 590: 534: 502: 220: 1196: 1182: 654: 582: 526: 470: 1102: 1031: 996: 630: 566: 558: 518: 494: 968: 1217: 1063: 1047: 1004: 822: 804: 622: 574: 542: 510: 486: 478: 454: 205: 118: 1055: 976: 910: 886: 870: 846: 814: 775: 638: 614: 462: 426: 370: 248: 210: 200: 184: 128: 100: 894: 783: 753: 313: 171: 862: 854: 346: 300: 1271: 1039: 309: 280: 219:
is set in 10th-century England and continues to follow the fortunes of the fictional
791: 284: 276: 394: 308:"is historical adventure on a grand scale" and compared it to "the works of 260: 241: 159: 155: 86: 376: 320: 256: 228: 224: 1083:
Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
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to Æthelstan; Uhtred realises that this will inevitably result in
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of three ships, but the fourth vessel gets away. He learns that
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It was first published in October 2019. 85: 78: 65:Learn how and when to remove this message 333: 7: 247:Edward, King of Wessex (and son of 14: 23: 1293:Novels set in the 10th century 1032:Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC 34:consists almost entirely of a 1: 16:2019 book by Bernard Cornwell 1288:Novels set in Northumberland 1314: 433: 324:also reviewed the novel. 84: 668:The Starbuck Chronicles 831:The Lords of the North 715:The Warlord Chronicles 879:Warriors of the Storm 1243:Seven Kings Must Die 221:Uhtred of Bebbanburg 1298:HarperCollins books 1278:2019 British novels 922:With Susannah Kells 81: 43:improve the article 1211:Sharpe's Challenge 607:Sharpe's Trafalgar 551:Sharpe's Christmas 350:. 1 September 2019 47:real-world context 1283:The Saxon Stories 1265: 1264: 1261: 1260: 1204:Sharpe's Waterloo 1169:Sharpe's Regiment 1064:Fools and Mortals 823:The Pale Horseman 805:The Saxon Stories 769:The Archer's Tale 702:The Bloody Ground 647:Sharpe's Assassin 599:Sharpe's Skirmish 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Index

plot summary
improve the article
real-world context
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Bernard Cornwell
The Saxon Stories
Historical novel
hardback
paperback
War of the Wolf
War Lord
historical novel
The Saxon Stories
Bernard Cornwell
Uhtred of Bebbanburg
Wessex
Mercia
Ealdorman
Alfred the Great
Mercia
civil war
Crepelgate
single combat
East Anglia
Kirkus Reviews
Conn Iggulden
Minette Walters
Booklist
"Sword of Kings"

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