Aelfred's Britain

«This engrossing history of the British people between the first Viking raids in 865 and the expulsion of the Vikings from York in 954 is notable for being a more nuanced portrait of that era... Lands other than Wessex come into fascinating new focus'»

«'An evocative look at a period that continues to grab the popular imagination'»

«This is much more than a book about the Vikings versus King Alfred... [Adams'] great achievement is to cover events throughout the whole of Britain with some excursions into Ireland and Europe as well'»

«'A beautifully crafted and impeccably compiled book, and one that is certainly a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in the events and figures that moulded Britain during the reign of the Vikings'»

«'Essential reading for all those interested in late Anglo-Saxon Britain'»

«Adams very usefully drops from the macro-narratives to detailed examples of what all this meant to people at ground level, using the evidence of coins and charters and, especially, archaeology - much of which exposes the written chronicles and histories as propaganda... A great virtue of his book - in following the archaeologists and the geographers, the reconstructors and the genealogists, Adams never forgets to ask what it looked like to the people on the ground'»

«'Brilliantly combining history and archaeological research with an eye for the terrain [Aelfred's Britain is] a compelling read that is as knowledgeable on warfare in the Middle Ages as it is on civic life in Saxon London and Viking York'»