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Author Archives: Patricia

Vikings Valhalla Season 2 Review

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Patricia

BEWARE SPOILERS!!! Season 2 of Netflix’s VIKINGS VALHALLA follows the further fanciful adventures of Vikings in the 11th century and, unfortunately, presents us with a bucket full of ridiculous nonsense over in London. The series bears little resemblance to what … Read More →

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April Adventures in Wales: A Medieval Dyke, a Carnival & Bookylicious

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Patricia

In late April 2022 my husband and I made our first post-pandemic trip to Europe. We flew from San Francisco to Palermo, Sicily, making a scheduled stop first in Wales. It’s on the way, right? Back in January I had … Read More →

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Wrexham Carnival of Words

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Patricia

On April 23, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. I will be joining novelist Barbara Erskine for Historical Fiction Night at the Wrexham Carnival of Words in North Wales. Barbara will be talking abour her latest novel The Dream Weavers, and its … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.10: Destiny is All

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Patricia

The final episode of this season takes place at Bebbanburg, where the show and the novels have been leading from the beginning. How that return to Bebbanburg plays out in this series bears little resemblance to what happens in the … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.9: The Best Laid Plans…

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Patricia

  TLK Episode 9 begins with Uhtred’s men and the Mercian Guard preparing to ride out from the burh at York to make for Bebbanburg under Uhtred’s command. Uhtred has plenty of reasons for leading a force against Bebbanburg: the … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.8: Daughters and Sons

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Patricia

  In the previous episode (Ep. 7), while I was totally fixated on Brida, the other story threads inched forward. Aethelhelm approached the Scots king with the offer of a Mercian bride (Aelswith) in return for putting his grandson on … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.7: Brida

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Patricia

The scripts for The Last Kingdom are based on the novels of Bernard Cornwell, on the history of 10th century England, and on what emerges from the creative minds of the showrunners. This final season has four previous seasons of … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.6: The Herepath

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Patricia

Most of this episode takes place in Mercia, somewhere between York and Aylesbury. Mind you, there are 200 miles between York and Aylesbury if one follows the ancient Roman roads that the Anglo-Saxons called herepaths. These were the roads that … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.5: Things Fall apart

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Patricia

In the middle of the previous Episode (4), Alfred’s widow says, as she mourns her daughter, “There has already been so much death, Uhtred, I could not bear more of it.” I’m with her. And so this 5th episode was … Read More →

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The Last Kingdom 5.4: Fade to Black

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Patricia

Anyone who has read Bernard Cornwell’s novels Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer must know by now that the series is straying significantly from the story lines of the books. Nevertheless, the series has embraced Cornwell’s characters, his … Read More →

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