Alfred is the only English king ever to be called Great. It was not a title given by political supporters not the sycophantic gift of an official biographer nor a self-styled title. It was the gift of history. Justin Pollards enthralling authoritative account befits Alfred
- a soldier a scholar & statesman like no other in English history. His rule spanned troubled times. His shores were under constant threat from Viking marauders & he faced turmoil at home. Soon after he began his rule a conspiracy erupted & he was hounded out of his kingdom into solitary exile in forests & fens. But his ambition was not felled by adversity. Alone in this damp dangerous half-world of bogs & quicksand Alfred looked within & found the motivation to create a new type of nation. Drawing on the latest historical textual & archaeological research Justin Pollard radically reassesses the key moments in Alfreds life. He offers a new interpretation of what caused this most remarkable king to begin the formation of England & how it coloured the subsequent history of the Western World down to the present day.