The Burning Land
First edition cover
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| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
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| Original title | The Burning Land |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Saxon Stories |
| Genre | historical novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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2009 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 366 first edition, hardback |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | Sword Song |
| Followed by | Death of Kings |
The Burning Land is the fifth historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2009. The story is set in the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon kingdoms Wessex, Northumbria and Mercia.
Uhtred of Bebbanburg wins a victory against Norse raiders for King Alfred. Uhtred goes into exile from Wessex after killing a Christian priest, in reaction to news of his wife's death. Uthred sets off viking, stays with Ragnar, then he returns to Mercia to serve Aethelflaed, for whom he wins several victories.
This novel, and the series of which it is the fifth part, has been well received. One reviewer remarks "Vivid descriptions of merciless battlefield slaughter, rape, and destruction are artfully related by a masterful storyteller." Another comments on the series and its viewpoint varying from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, saying "Historical novels stand or fall on detail, and Mr Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back." Another again praises Cornwell's eye for historical detail, and "his capacity for pulling off deft reverses are still in place, which helps to keep the narrative turning briskly along."
The novel is written as a first-person narrative told by Uhtred as a reflection. The telling of the story is broken into three books titled "The Warlord", "Viking" and "Battle's Edge". The novel was also published with a family tree of Alfred the Great, a historical note, a list of Anglo-Saxon place names and their modern-day equivalent and a map depicting Anglo-Saxon Britain and the Southern coast of the English Channel and North Sea.
892 - 893: The second major campaign of King Alfred against the invading Danes begins in earnest. Uhtred of Bebbanburg is now the preeminent warlord of Wessex, Alfred's kingdom. Alfred refers to him as "my dux bellorum, my lord of battles." Alfred urges him to swear to serve Alfred's son and presumed heir, Edward. "Scour the enemy from England," Alfred says, "and make my son safe on his God-given throne." Uhtred is unwilling to make that commitment. He has long wanted to return to his family's stronghold at Bebbanburg in Northumbria and to deal with his uncle Aelfric, who stole the family properties and titles from him. He wants his obligation to Alfred and Wessex to end when Alfred, now seriously ill, passes away.
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