Alfred the Great

Since the year 2000 I have been keeping track of what I read, just to see what I gravitate towards etc, and it is about 40 books a year, or so. Until this book, my favorite was the UNabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo, translator Robin Buss, Penguin Classics. That was until I found this book, which makes you feel as if you are standing around watching these events that are described, in person. Very vivid, very interesting, the writing style is superior, it gets you into the story. I feel like I sat down next to Alfred and overheard all his conversations and stood a little distance away and witnessed his army fight the hated Vikings. I just could not put this book down, and certainly that cannot be said for most books, whatever the subject matter. If you buy one book in the next year or so, make it this one. You will be carried along not so much by the action, but by the entire story as it is told. It is not just told, it is dramatized in such a way that it is very very interesting.

This is a refreshing and authoritative take on the life of the enigmatic Alfred (who if remembered at all is not remembered for founding the Royal Navy, or saving England from total Viking domination or for trying to ressurect education -- he's remembered for burning the bread at Athenly), and one that any history buff would enjoy reading. It's not so much a direct biography of Alfred as you might think. Yes, it covers the major beats of his life, and offers intrieguing interpretations thereon, but as the only real evidence that we have of Alfred consists of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, some charters (which Pollard reminds us more often that not have a good likelihood of having been forged), some of Alfred's own writings and translations and Asser's biography of Alfred, there is not much to hang a biographical hat on. Instead, Pollard, uses Alfred's life to introduce us to the times that Alfred lived in more generally. Here we meet not only the King himself, but we also see the City of Rome circa 854, a decaying shell of its former self. Then we meet with the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, who was killed, according to Pollard, either years before Alfred was born, or when he was 13. Then there's the more concrete (and shrewd-to-a-fault) Viking warrior Weyland, whose thirst for gold may have nearly cost him his life. Gossip on the Wessex court and their Frankish counterparts is also in evidence, breathing life into the dry annals in a fascinating manner -- for instance Pollard's interpretation of Queen Judith's rather hasty and forced crowning after her marraige to Aethelwulf (The Saxons, after a nasty experience with a Queen of Mercia, were not enamored of the title) as a Frankish power play. The book reads very easily, and Pollard's writing is lucid and entrancing. I've read Eleanor Shipley-Duckett's seminal work on Alfred, and while astounding scholarship, her 1950's-era take is dated. Pollard's book is a must for any who want to understand Alfred and his times.

Author Justin Pollard begins this fascinating and engaging historical work by describing the fate of the original source material and how it was partially preserved over centuries. While admitting early on that he will be relying on a single primary source ,the work of the monk Asser , he nevertheless weaves an exciting and enlightening work of biography and history out of it. Anglo-Saxon England besieged on all sides by Vikings and governed as small and separate Kingdoms give rise to an individual who unites the Kingdom and ultimately establishes the lineage of the future Kings of England. Alfred's decision to stay in Wessex and engage in an underground resistance rather than flee is shown to have had consequences that have echoed through the centuries. Alfred's contribution to creating a literate culture is compellingly described in a later chapter and is one of the most interesting aspects of his life. Collecting scholars to his circle and learning Latin to allow for his own interpretations of works he viewed as critical are shown to be the beginning of English culture. The stories of the social political and military developments in Alfred's time are deftly handled by the author and the book is an enjoyable way to experience the middle ages in England.

Justin Pollard's strength is the canny way he brings ancient stories to life by focussing on the human, emotional drivers that set his protagonists into action. The social and political context of Alfred's world is dealt with sensitively and non-judgmentally, leaving the reader to draw his/her own conclusions with the assistance of Pollard's meticulous research. An excellent work: a readable and informative benchmark for the subject matter. Pollard's thesis, that Alfred was the greatest Englishman, is highly persuasive.

Ok, that title was just to catch your attention! But I have long thought that the real King Arthur of legend was based on the Anglo Saxon King Alfred. It would be unlikely for Normans to want to draw any such parallels; but instead of knights Alfred drew around him scholars, and instead of a Merlin he had the Welsh Asser by his side. But you will get none of that sort of thing in this book. This book is good history written in a fluid style that is hard to put down. There is none of that heaping up of sub-clauses and name-dropping that you get in so many histories. This man can write! Pollard gives you all the background you need, and deftly weaves into this work enough detail about Anglo Saxon and Viking life (and even a little Celtic) to give you a good grounding in that age. You aren't always aware that he is doing it because customs are often introduced as anecdotes or to explain a fact bearing on the story line. Nor is this work restricted to the southern counties of England. The declining Carolignian Empire and most other places that the Vikings came into contact with are well documented. So, is this book crammed with a lot of trivia? No, you never once get that feeling. Always Pollard's words are interesting and relevant. Indeed, at the end of your over 300-page read, you will be surprised that so much was contained in the book. Nor does Pollard idolise Alfred. He seeks to extract the man from the myth; and yet when all is said and done, you will understand why the Victorians called this man Alfred, Great. Alfred's story is a great story; he stood up to the bully, and he adapted the social order of his people in order to do so (much as we are now doing to defend ourselves against terrorists); and he did it with guts. Don't take my word for it: read for yourself. And if there are any film makers out there who want to continue the successful Lord of the Rings ethos, why not base a film on this book? It would have to be better than the only other film I know of Alfred, which depicted him as a psychological misfit. This is a great book about a great man.