Dear Mr Cornwell,

I am a huge fan of both the Warlord and Saxon Stories series; for me, the best things about the books are the characters and the attention to historical detail. When I came to watch the Last Kingdom, I was very impressed with the former, with the casting being excellent across the board. Similarly, a great deal of effort had obviously been made with regard to historical details such as the use of languages similar to Old Norse on the soundtrack. This made the depiction of the Saxon shields stand out even more – shield walls play such a big part in Uhtred’s story that the decision to portray the Saxons with rectangular and kite shields seemed odd. The only reason I could think for this was to provide viewers with an easy visual differentiation between Vikings and Saxons during the battle scenes. As both a writer and a military historian, where do you stand on the balance between aesthetics and accuracy when your works are transferred to the screen?

Matthew Walker