Mr. Cornwell,

I’ve recently started the Last Kingdom books (just finished The Pale Horseman, and previously read the Warlord Chronicles and the Waterloo history book) and I have a historical question about the Danish invasion.  A lot of characters fear a Danish victory will mean the end of England, and the English as a people, but I can’t help but think of the various Norse kingdoms in Ireland and Scotland, the later reign of Cnut and his dynasty, and the Varangian dynasties in Russia and Ukraine; where the Norse held on for a few decades or even centuries but never really ‘Scandinavianized’ the area – and sometimes even assimilated into the native culture.  Is there anything historically to suggest that the Danish invasion was different from other Norse conquests?

Thanks, love the books, and hope this doesn’t sound nasty or accusatory in any way, because it’s not intended that way!

Daniel S.