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

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The Last Kingdom is one of the most successful historical fiction series of our time. The novels tell the epic story of the birth of England and introduces one of the greatest ever fictional heroes: the iconic Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the Saxon-born, Norse-raised warrior and rebel. In this lively compendium, Bernard Cornwell revisits Uhtred’s realm, illuminating elements of the Anglo-Saxon world he couldn’t fully explore in his novels.

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.

Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown After publishing eight books in his ongoing Sharpe series, Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in adapting them for television. The producers asked him to write a prequel to give them a starting point to the series. They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe’s Rifles, published in 1987, and a series of Sharpe television films staring Sean Bean. After an outstanding series of novels, featuring Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series came to an end in 2020. However, here we have a curious new book from Cornwell featuring 80 Anglo-Saxon recipes by Suzanne Pollak, some wonderful historical insights & three brand new short stories featuring the legendary Uhtred.

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. I would divide this little gem of a book into three sections - Cornwell’s nonfiction historical discussion, the joy of more time with Uhtred through a few short stories and some really interesting links and shared knowledge on Saxon cuisine and cooking techniques - what a veritable feast!As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C.S. Forester, chronicling the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars, and was surprised to find there were no such novels following Lord Wellington's campaign on land. Motivated by the need to support himself in the U.S. through writing, Cornwell decided to write such a series. He named his chief protagonist Richard Sharpe, a rifleman involved in most major battles of the Peninsular War. I looked up at the stars and thought I had fought my last fight, faced my last shield wall, and was racing home to a loving woman, to good ale, and to Bebbanburg." Cornwell’s skill [is] in ageing his warrior-hero, who now creaks as he fights and is haunted by those he has loved and lost” - THE TIMES My name is Uhtred. I am the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred . . . I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to readers who love this time period, wish to learn about the history and cuisine and especially lovers of The Last Kingdom.

Here’s the official description of Uhtred’s Feast from Cornwell’s publisher HarperCollins, which sheds a bit more light on what exactly readers (or aspiring medieval chefs) can expect: The birth of England has been and is one of my great interests,” Cornwell said in a statement. “After two decades immersed in Anglo-Saxon history – an intense period of warring kingdoms and political rivalry – it is a pleasure to share some new stories of Uhtred throughout this time and present sides of life even beyond battle” 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.

Over the course of writing the Last Kingdom series, Bernard Cornwell discovered an increasing fascination for the Anglo-Saxon world: its people, their culture, and their domestic lives beyond the battlefield. And so when he met renowned chef Suzanne Pollak, someone with a passion for Anglo-Saxon cookery, Uhtred’s Feast was born.

The best battle scenes of any writer I’ve ever read, past or present. Cornwell really makes history come alive” - George R.R. MartinThe 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. Definitely a book for those who want to complete their Uhtred collection but by no means one of the best ones. It is exactly as advertised, so no complaints there. I knew going in that a lot of the book was going to be factual food information and associated recipes. I’ve always found that topic mildly interesting without being fascinated by it, so the fact that it fills about half the book meant it was never going to get 5 stars from me. I’m sure the recipes are fine and that those really interested in such things will thoroughly enjoy them.