Book
The King of Athelney
First published 1961
Alfred, youngest son of the West Saxon royal house, grows up expecting his elder brothers to rule. Education, journeys to Rome and years of campaigning instead prepare him for a crown inherited during the most dangerous phase of the Viking assault on Anglo-Saxon England.
After the Great Heathen Army destroys other kingdoms, a sudden Danish offensive drives Alfred from conventional power and into the Somerset marshes. Athelney becomes the base from which he rebuilds resistance before returning to defeat Guthrum at Edington. Alfred Duggan follows not only the military recovery but the larger work of kingship: fortified towns, law, learning and administrative reform become part of the effort to ensure that Wessex can survive the next invasion rather than merely celebrate the last victory.
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