Books like “The Last Kingdom”

What to read after “The Last Kingdom” by Bernard Cornwell: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

About “The Last Kingdom”

Another favorite book?

Or start with a well-known book

1
Master and Commander
Patrick O'Brian · 1969
Same genre: “Historical fiction” and “Adventure”
- War Fiction
- Found Family
In 1800, Royal Navy captain Jack Aubrey takes command of a small brig and meets the ship's surgeon, Stephen Maturin, a naturalist and secret intelligence agent. Their friendship grows as the crew pursues a Spanish frigate across the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
2
The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett · 1989
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- Revenge
In twelfth-century England a stonemason named Tom Builder dreams of raising a great cathedral. Around its construction gather a cunning prior, a noblewoman and a ruthless lord whose ambitions and feuds shape the lives of an entire town.
3
The Sunne in Splendour
Sharon Kay Penman · 1982
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- War Fiction
A retelling of the life of Richard III, from his boyhood in a divided England to his brief reign. Set against the Wars of the Roses, it follows the Yorkist claim to the throne, the loyalties that bind Richard, and the rumour and betrayal that surround his name.
4
The White Queen
Philippa Gregory · 2009
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- War Fiction
Elizabeth Woodville, a widowed commoner, secretly marries King Edward IV and is crowned in a court that dislikes her family. Through the wars between Lancaster and York she and her relatives rise, scheme and lose ground to rivals who will not accept a commoner as queen.
5
Azincourt
Bernard Cornwell · 2008
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
Outlawed archer Nicholas Hook joins Henry V's army as it invades France. Mired in a brutal siege and heavily outnumbered at Azincourt, he and his comrades face a battle that will decide the fate of a kingdom.
6
World Without End
Ken Follett · 2007
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
Two centuries after The Pillars of the Earth, four children in Kingsbridge witness a killing that binds their fates together. As plague sweeps the land, they struggle with love, ambition and the harsh rules of their age.
7
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr · 2014
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
- Coming of Age
During the German occupation of France, a blind girl and her father flee Paris for the walled city of Saint-Malo, carrying a valuable jewel. In Germany, an orphan with a gift for radio repairs is drawn into the war machine. Their separate paths move slowly toward the same besieged town in August 1944.
8
The Greatest Knight
Elizabeth Chadwick · 2005
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
- Coming of Age
William Marshal, a landless younger son, wins renown on the tournament circuit of twelfth-century Europe. Sworn to kings and queens, he serves through rebellion and shifting alliances, and his loyalty is tested as often as his skill at arms.
9
The Alice Network
Kate Quinn · 2017
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- War Fiction
- Found Family
In 1947, pregnant and unmarried Charlie follows a lead about her missing cousin to a ruined woman in London. Their search draws on the story of Eve, a spy who ran a network in occupied France during the First World War, and the betrayals that broke it.
10
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak · 2005
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
Narrated by Death, the story follows Liesel Meminger, a girl sent to live with a foster family in Nazi Germany. She steals books, shares them with a Jewish man hiding in the basement, and grows up amid bombs, loss and small acts of kindness.
11
The Crystal Cave
Mary Stewart · 1970
Similar setting: “Medieval Setting”
- Medieval Setting
- Coming of Age
Merlin, the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess, grows up despised and unsure of his parentage. Drawn toward a hidden power, he travels through a Britain of warring kings and finds his place as the prophet and adviser of a young Arthur.
12
Katherine
Anya Seton · 1954
Same genre: “Historical fiction”
- Medieval Setting
In fourteenth-century England, Katherine Swynford becomes a lady-in-waiting and falls in love with John of Gaunt, a royal duke bound by marriage and politics. Their long, often forbidden attachment survives plague, war and the disapproval of a court that cannot forgive a scandal.