Ælfred’s Britain: War and Peace in the Viking Age by Max Adams

Head of Zeus, 528 pages, £9.99

The unexpected Old English letter æsc (æ) in Max Adams’ book title is a reminder that, while King Alfred (or Ælfred) ‘the Great’ may sell books, it is useful to recast this famous figure in an unfamiliar way. Britain, Adams shows, was not Ælfred’s. The cake-burning king was just one of a host of characters, many of whose names were also spelt in now-unfamiliar ways, and whose stories across Britain and beyond (particularly in Ireland) shaped a Viking age in which kingdoms and communities were forged.

Adams’ prose is conversational, even irreverent at times, but it does not diminish the serious consideration provided by this heavyweight book. The result is an exciting tale, well grounded in a landscape vividly brought to life on every page. Adams has certainly done some impressive reading and is well versed in current debates. There are flashes of genius too: the representation of connections between places around Britain as versions of a Tube map is inspired.

Ælfred’s Britain begins in the eighth century, and ends with “the illusory prize” of British hegemony, which lay just out of reach of the southern-based English kings in the mid-10th century. If it’s a hint that there is more to come in this early medieval story from Adams, it should be worth the wait. Ryan Lavelle is reader in early medieval history at the University of Winchester. His books include

Cnut: The North Sea King (2017) and Alfred’s Wars (2010)