Drags in places and so many names is difficult to follow at times. ( )

The history of the Vikings has been an interest of mine for about 13 years now, not in the least "revived" one way or another thanks to Bernard Cornwell's excellent series 'The Saxon Stories' (later renamed to 'The Last Kingdom' to match the TV-series; it's also the title of the first book in the series). I've yet to read the last six novels, which will prove to be a hard re-introduction, as the last time I read one was in 2014: 'The Pagan Land'. See my shelf for the reviews.

Historical fiction is a perfect introduction if one doesn't know or want to start with non-fiction on a particular historical event/place/person/.... Many books have been and are still being written and published about the Viking Age. We all know the classic bits, like the attack in Lindisfarne in 793 and so on. Aside from the book that treat the topic in general, it's also interesting to read books that focus on a particular era or territory, in this case... Great Britain. Or Britain. Or England. Which wasn't known as such back in King Alfraed's time.

Max Adams is an archaeologist (and historian), but this book looks at the Viking Age in Britain from this point-of-view. As other readers wrote, there are a lot of "seems", "assume", and so on. This does make sense, as there is still much we don't know about that period. There are written records, like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (British Library), Historia Regum Britanniae (WikiSource) and several others, which Mr Adams used to complement his guiding us through the centuries of Scandinavian occupation. Also necessary to take into account: Who were the chroniclers, the keepers of history back then or throughout the ages?

The book is divided into three parts: 789-878, 879-918, 919-955. You'll learn that what we now know as Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) and Ireland was then subdivided into various kingdoms (main roles for Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Wessex, Dublin, the Isle of Man) and smaller, each with their own governance and competing with each other. The number of kings, jarls, earls, "subkings", ... - in England, Scotland, Ireland, ... - is staggering. You'll also learn about King Alfred, who sought to unite the various territories under one banner, one nation. How battles were fought, deals were struck, lands were given, invaders were chased, hoards were found, bishops exerted their "divine" (rather political, of course) influence, ... and how his (Alfred's) successors (Aethelstan, Edward, ...) had their own style of governing. Language is obviously an important aspect as well, as shown in the names of places, of streets, and more.

As Mr Adams takes us further on the timeline, it's clear that the Vikings were here, eh, there to stay. They established their own communities, traded, waged war, and what have you; with the Anglo-Saxons or among themselves. Little by little both people, the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavians (to put the Norse and Danish invaders into one pool), would mingle, intermarry, and influence each other in terms of art, clothing, and more.

I won't go into detail that much - there are better reviews here for that -, because I found the writing or structure not that accessible; while each chapter has key terms to indicate what will be treated, I think it would have been better to put proper titles with each subject/sub-theme, not just symbols to separate one from the other. This leads to a jumpy way of relating the history.
Each chapter contains a lot of information that might/may not interest the general reader. But even if you're interested in the subject, I advise you to stay focused and read the book in bits and pieces.

The book is filled with maps, photos and useful information. Each of the three parts starts with a timeline of the period, followed by an preface of forespæc. At the end of the book, you'll find an overview of the various kings for the different parts of Great Britain, the required notes, a list of consulted books and other documents (on- and offline), and an index.

While not a perfect book, it does help to see and offer a more detailed picture of the Vikings' time in Great Britain and how one thing (or various things) led to (an)other(s). Topics include not only political issues (who governed? who succeeded whom? ...), but also daily life, culture, the economy, minting, and more.

This is not a biography of King Alfred himself; for that there are other books, like 'Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources' by Asser, the bishop who was in service of Alfred. Mr Adams also referred to some of the sagas, like 'Egil's Saga', and how they are to be taken with a grain of salt, yet may show what life was like back then.

Long story short: Recommended? Yes, if you have at least a good basic background of the Vikings in general and wish to know in detail - even if there is quite some speculation - how they arrived on Anglo-Saxon territory and eventually established their own communities there, but not without a fight or two and more political struggles. Whether or not you have read historical fiction based on the particular period.

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Among the mentioned/consulted/listed works, these are still on my TBR-pile:

* Asser - Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources
* Richard Hall - The World of the Vikings
* Egil's Saga

Next to those, several more (in English or French) still to be read, as added on this shelf. ( )

This is a very well researched and written account of the period of Viking influence on the whole of the British Isles and Ireland, from the infamous initial attack on the Holy Island, Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian coast on 8 June 1793 (I was on the island on the day of the anniversary this year), covering a period of some 160 years until the last Viking king of York was defeated by the English king Edred in 954 and England became, more or less, a united country (the Viking influence continued later on and of course Danish Canute and his sons ruled England for some 26 years in the following century). There is a lot of discussion of literary and archaeological evidence and the reader gets a strong sense of the patchwork of small kingdoms, alliances and struggles across the country, and how far the country was from being a united England, even after the efforts of Kings Alfred, Edward and Athelstan to unite the main kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, and attempt to exert influence over East Anglia and Northumbria. Viking influence on what would later become France is also covered to some extent, as it illustrates how the Vikings divided their attempts and focused on one country to allow the other country to recover somewhat before it was fit to be raided again for riches and resources. This book is richly illustrated and has genealogical tables and many footnotes. It is a worthy and deep look at this crucial period in the history of the British Isles ( )

While I'm going with the current consensus and give this book a rating of 4 stars, I might have given it a rating of 3.75 if one could go more granular. Part of this is expectations, in that while Adams does spend much time on conflict and friction between Vikings and the inhabitants of the British Isles, the original title of "Aelfred's Britain" gives one a better sense of what this book is about. This is as Adams' main goal is to put Aelfred into context; while the most important leader in an ever shifting constellation of very localized social entities he was far from being the ruler of an anachronistic unified kingdom. Also, while Adams does wear his learning quite lightly, this probably isn't the first book one should pick up on the topic. It's like a mosaic of what the current state of play suggests we can say about the period in question; which means that one winds up with the feeling that the work is less than the sum of the parts. ( )