WELCOME

A major new BBC historical drama, The Last Kingdom, is due to hit our screens in the next few weeks. The eightpart series is based on novels by Bernard Cornwell and will take viewers into the world of late ninth- century England when the country was divided between the Vikings and the Anglo- Sax

ons. Historian Ryan Lavelle has acted as a consultant for the series and for this month’s cover feature (page 22) he explores the complex relationship between the Norse invaders and those who sought to repel them, most notably Alfred the Great. As Ryan explains, diplomacy was just as important as warfare when it came to Anglo- Saxon survival. Britain’s most recent battle for survival occurred in the Second

World War, when facing the march of Nazi Germany. This conflict was fought on land, sea and air but also in the shadows, as Max Hastings reveals in his survey of the ‘ secret war’ of spies, code

breakers and deceptions. Turn to page 50 to find out more about some of the war’s most extraordinary individuals.

Max is one of almost 40 historians to be speaking at our upcoming Malmesbury History Weekend, alongside the likes of Joann Fletcher, Sam Willis, Loyd Grossman, Alison Weir, Dominic Sandbrook and Michael Wood – all of whom have also written for this edition of the magazine. I look forward to meeting many of you at the event and, even if you’re not able to attend, I hope you will enjoy these authors’ contributions in the pages that follow.