Book Blurb:
'Alfred of Wessex, Book One: Inheritance' is the story of the youngest brother of the Kings of Anglo-Saxon Wessex, who only centuries later would be known as ‘Alfred the Great’.
Wessex is under threat of invasion from the Danes and is divided by rivalries.
A young Alfred is thrust into the midst of war and intrigue.
Alfred of Wessex is based around real historical events during the defence of Anglo-Saxon Wessex, as viking raids turned into full-scale invasion by the pagan Danes.
In Inheritance, the first book in the series, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia face a gathering storm of Danes threatening destruction and occupation.
Amongst all this, the Kingdom of Wessex is split by rivalries. Who should be heir to Alfred’s brother’s Kingdom? The King’s Council of Ealdormen is divided. Powerful voices back King Ethelred’s boys as future Kings, while Alfred, with little experience of war or politics, must decide if he truly wants the Kingship.
A conflicted Alfred is sent to the neighbouring Kingdom of Mercia, where his sister Queen Edith introduces her goddaughter Elswith to Alfred. Alfred collapses in pain at their wedding, only confirming to the Ealdormen that he is not capable of being King.
With the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia destroyed and Mercia weakened, the Danes invade Wessex. Leaving his wife and baby daughter behind, Alfred becomes a war leader, fighting battle after battle.
Meanwhile, the intrigues and rivalries continue. How can Wessex avoid catastrophe: is this the end of Wessex itself?
The Author: Michael Carden
Michael Carden has three published books to date, including humorous tales of cycling adventures through historic sites of Britain. This is the first book of his historical novel: Alfred of Wessex, Book One: Inheritance
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/alfredofwessex
Author Bio:
Mike Carden is the author of three books relating the story of bike rides and is the author of Alfred of Wessex, Book One: Inheritance.
Bike Ride Books:
Told with 'almost unquenchable good humour', with stories of the peoples and places he visits, and with an eye to history and heritage, they strike a chord with cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
The Full English: Pedalling through England, Mid-Life Crisis and Truly Rampant Man-Flu
- 'Warm, well observed, unpretentious and very funny.' (Adventure Travel magazine).
A Bit Scott-ish: Pedalling through Scotland in search of Adventure, Nature and Lemon Drizzle Cake
- 'With Mike’s engaging and witty style you are soon travelling along with him as he takes on mountains, copes with the elements of a Scottish summer and being directionally challenged.' (www.cycletourer.co.uk)
A Lake District Grand Tour: Pedalling through Lakeland: The Challenge, The History, The Wildlife, The Scones
- Cumbria Life Magazine: 'Relaxed and chatty with a ready wit. His humorous observations are reminiscent of Stuart Maconie's travelogues but with added panting and pedalling.'
Alfred of Wessex, Book One: Inheritance:
The Kingdom of Wessex is under threat of invasion from the Danes and is divided by rivalries. A young Alfred is thrust into the midst of war and intrigue.
This is the story of Alfred, youngest brother of the Kings of Wessex, who only centuries later would be known as ‘Alfred the Great’.
Alfred of Wessex is based around real historical events during the defence of Anglo-Saxon Wessex, as viking raids turned into full-scale invasion by the pagan Danes.
In Inheritance, the first book in the series, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia face a gathering storm of Danes threatening destruction and occupation.
Amongst all this, the Kingdom of Wessex is split by rivalries. Who should be heir to Alfred’s brother’s Kingdom? The King’s Council of Ealdormen is divided. Powerful voices back King Ethelred’s boys as future Kings, while Alfred, with little experience of war or politics, must decide if he truly wants the Kingship.
A conflicted Alfred is sent to the neighbouring Kingdom of Mercia, where his sister Queen Edith introduces her goddaughter Elswith to Alfred. Alfred collapses in pain at their wedding, only confirming to the Ealdormen that he is not capable of being King.
With the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia destroyed and Mercia weakened, the Danes invade Wessex. Leaving his wife and baby daughter behind, Alfred becomes a war leader, fighting battle after battle.
Meanwhile, the intrigues and rivalries continue. How can Wessex avoid catastrophe: is this the end of Wessex itself?
Find out more at https://mikecarden.co.uk/
Editorial Review:
It is the task of the creator of historical fiction to form a creative narrative that the reader will find both compelling and absorbing. The chief problem in creating such a narrative of the event or events in question is that, whereas much is generally and thus generally held to be true and much, indeed, has been written subsequently, often very few contemporary or near contemporary sources actually exist, throwing the writer back on his or her own imagination. Historical accuracy and a compelling narrative are the twin objectives of historical fiction. ''Alfred of Wessex. Book One. Inheritance'' by Michael Carden is a work of historical fiction which sets about achieving this!
In his foreword to his book, Carden sets out his manifesto: ''The major events in this book are real events, but without exception, there is no reliably historical detail on any of them. I have therefore used research into warfare, marriage etc. to recreate what might have happened...... The men and women of the Anglo-Saxon period were only different to us as a result of the society they lived in. They would have suffered or benefitted from the same traits to be found in our times. Loyalty and treachery, friendship and enmity, trust and jealousy, good and bad judgement, and so many more....''
Having thus set out his stall, Michael Carden then delivers the goods in a rich and deftly woven tale of ninth century England, a rich narrative that never falters to the end and leaves the reader in great anticipation of the second installment. Alfred [849-899], known to history as ''The Great'' was King of the southern and south western England of the Kingdom of Wessex from 871 at the age of twenty one to his death at the age of fifty in 899. He remains one of the most written about figures, both in biography and in fiction, in English history. Much of this fiction, but by no means all, is almost hagiographic in nature. A particular writer, Alfred Duggan, springs to mind with his ''King of Athelney''. More recently, no less a writer than Bernard Cornwell, has been less charitable. In his choice of subject matter, then, Michael Carden is in excellent, though crowded, company!
The life, times and career of Alfred may be said to have fallen into quite clearly delineated episodes; which is why the author sensibly ceases his narrative at the point that he does. The book opens at that point in English history when the deprivations of the Vikings moved from beyond simple and often localised violent and traumatic nuisance raids on coastal areas to the full scale invasion of Anglo-Saxon England by the pagan Danes and the over-running of most of the then Kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. In their subsequent attacks on the Kingdom of Wessex, it seemed highly likely that all of Anglo-Saxon England would fall to the rapacious Danes - but for the courage and perseverance of Alfred himself. It is at this point that Book One of 'Inheritance' both begins and ends. Wessex at this time was itself crumbling; with a youthful and indecisive King Ethelred [Alfred's older brother] and a highly disputatious and self interested Council of 'Ealdormen' representing the individual shires that constituted the Kingdom of Wessex as a whole. The Ealdormen of Hampshire and Somerset are particular enemies to Ethelred and his chosen heir, Alfred.
This is a dangerous and grim period of English history indeed, but Carden turns his keen eye upon these largely unchronicled events with precision, realism and with an often lyrical description of individuals and their moods and the extremely blood soaked and frequent accounts of conflict between the English and the pagan Danes. There is the immediacy and the 'chiaroscuro' of dark and light in one of the many violent battles that he invokes; the suddenness and the fury of the fight, the sights and sounds of sudden and violent conflict:
''.....the flat rays of the sun across the water made one side of each charging enemy a brilliant golden yellow, the other side dark in the shadows. In the briefest moment the noise of two charging warrior bands peaked and broke. Shields crashed together and the first of the spears hit home. Screams replaced battle cries, along with grunts of effort in the slashing of a sword, the thrust of a spear or the swinging of a shield.....'' There is a vividness and an immediacy in Carden's telling of physical contact: ....''So it was that Alfred had the space and what seemed an age to look into a Danish face, large eyed and suddenly fearful, to thrust his own spear into an unprotected body for the first time. The Dane screamed. Blood welled red in the beam of sun as the man twisted against the spear and went down.....''
Carden is equally expressive, indeed lyrical, in his vivid descriptions of the country of old England in all its passing seasons; from the ice and snow and howling winds of bitter winters in camp to the warmth and gentleness of the late Spring and summer. Here is Alfred and his trusted friend and companion Noth riding in the splendour of an early Autumn:
''They rode north from Wilton along winding tracks through the woodlands of oak, ash and elm of Wiltshire, the leaves beginning to turn bronze and red. Squirrels scampered up trunks as they passed, their brown-red tails flicking as they ran along branches. Woodpeckers hammered at bark in their search for insects and flew off as the two approached, with flashes of black, white and red against the trees....'' Warming to his theme, Cardon continues in similar vein, delighting in his description of the countryside: ''....they rode side by side past marshland and ponds blocked by beaver dams, with swifts skimming the water and sometimes the vivid blue flash of a kingfisher chasing ahead of them. Occasionally, a herd of deer or wild horses scampered off at the sight of them, and in the distance they heard boars and once even the howling of wolves....''
Alfred was that rare thing in ninth century England, a literate and indeed even a learned and thoughtful man. Many sayings attributed to him have been noted down. One particular sentiment commonly said to have been said by him is worth quoting in full, for it neatly summarises his life and career for the duration of Carden's ''Inheritance'' and, indeed, for all of his life and career to follow:
For in prosperity a man is often puffed up with pride, whereas tribulations chasten and humble him through suffering and sorrow. In the midst of prosperity the mind is elated and in prosperity a man forgets himself. In hardship he is forced to reflect on himself, even though he be unwilling. In prosperity a man often destroys the good he has done; amidst difficulties he often accepts what he long since did in the way of wickedness.''
Straight, allegedly, from the horse's mouth! Alfred's extremely difficult early years are constantly blighted by a long chain of dramatic and traumatic events, often brought about by towering acts of treachery and betrayal from men in whom he held trust. Beset from an early age with severe abdominal pains and upsets that will only grow more severe as he grows older and almost always one step ahead in headlong flight from a vengeful Danish war party or full blooded army, he takes his ease and pleasure where he might [there are frequent references in the book to a previous misspent youth], finding delight in his young wife and daughter and in the occasional company of his beloved elder sister, to whom he is devoted. He knows he is the designated heir of his irresolute elder brother and that this is a very unpopular choice and shows again and again in the narrative his iron resolve to overcome all of the obstacles placed before him. The arguments and the mutinies at his many Councils grow in intensity as his fight against the invaders grows ever more desperate, finally observing with immense sadness and trepidation the collapse of his one remaining ally, the Kingdom of Mercia, and the permanent exile of his sister. It is at this cliff hanging stage in his career that 'Inheritance' ends.
One further saying attributed to Alfred, justifiably termed 'The Great', is as follows: ''I desire to leave the men that come after me a remembrance of me in good works.'' The shade of Alfred can, then, take some comfort in his life as evoked by Michael Carden. This is a sustained and exciting account of a memorable man living and shaping a very uncertain and violent age. The author has created a thrilling book which serves as a firm foundation for any subsequent account!
*****
“Alfred of Wessex” by Michael Carden receives 4.5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company