I might like the Cornwell book. I read a lot of the Captain Sharpe series back in the early 90s, when I had a baby who wouldn’t sleep.
If you like Cornwell, you will like these books-this one is the latest-and 7th-book in the series, and a new one comes out every 2 years or so. The first book introduces the narrator-the Earl Uhtred-as a child in Northumbria, and the story-both his and that of Alfred’s wars and family-take off from there. Uther is written with a cynical and very British sense of humor from the time he is about 14 that makes you laugh at just about everything...