The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1)

by Bernard Cornwell

Alfred gave me an intense look that, to be honest, made me uncomfortable. I was to discover in time that he was a clever man, very clever, and thought twice as fast as most others, and he was also a serious man, so serious that he understood everything except jokes.

So Alfred, the youngest of six brothers, was now the King of Wessex. The year was 871.

“Ruthless, generous, pious, boring, that’s Alfred,”