Charles Kingsley 
Hereward the Last of the English 

Hereward, the Last of the English is an 1866 novel by Charles Kingsley. It tells the story of Hereward, a historical Anglo-Saxon figure who led resistance against the Normans from a base in Ely surrounded by fen land. It was Kingsley’s last historical novel, and was instrumental in elevating Hereward into an English folk-hero. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)