ALFRED THE GREAT (POCKET GIANTS)

Why is Alfred the Great? He was the man who saved England, invented English identity and pioneered English as a written language. He is the first Englishman for whom a biography survives - which also means one reason Alfred seems ‘great’ is that he made sure we were told he was. This book attempts to get the measure of Alfred free of contemporary propaganda and Victorian adulation, and takes a clear-eyed look at what he actually achieved.