The King of Athelney
by Alfred Duggan
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Description
"As the Viking hordes invade, one man stands strong. It was foolish to fight those heathen pirates, the Vikings. Prudent statesman paid them off - but they never stayed away for long. King Alfred was different. He alone stood his ground and fought the marauders again and again. But he was never meant to be king. With two older brothers, Alfred was first sent to Rome for confirmation by the Pope himself, to be educated for a life of diplomacy. Things turned out very differently on the show more battlefields of far Wessex, but his training made him one of the most ingenious and forward-thinking kings of his time. Uniting the disparate kingdoms of England wasn't his goal. It was his destiny... The King of Athelney is a vivid, epic historical adventure, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Harry Sidebottom and Giles Kristian. Praise for Alfred Duggan "?One of the best historical novelists of this century' Times Literary Supplement"-- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
themulhern King Alfred books. But Duggan's is the drier, for sure.
Member Reviews
Duggan's Alfred the Great is a man destined for the Church, who becomes a man of action due to a bad case of Viking. Though weak on the blood and guts and sexy sides this book provides a fine corrective on some of the excesses of the "Uthred of Bebbenburgh" books written by Bernard cornwell. I think both visions are necessary to provide a balanced view of alfred in fiction. Read this book! It won't be hard.
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Author Information
35+ Works 1,575 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Alternate titles
- The Right Line of Cerdic; The King Of Athelney
- Original publication date
- 1961
- People/Characters
- Alfred the Great
- Important places
- Wessex; Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK; Wantage, Oxfordshire, England, UK; Rome, Italy
- First words
- A group of chamberlains and chaplains stood before the palace of the Lateran, enjoying the last rays of spring sunshine and making plans for tomorrow.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And on the Danish side Kind Eorhic was killed, and the atheling Ethelwold whom they had chosen as their King . . . and a great slaughter was made on both sides.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- The Right Line of Cerdic is the US title.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 68
- Popularity
- 460,043
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.94)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 6
