The Dragon and the Raven; Or, the Days of King Alfred
1885
The year is 871 AD. England burns. Across the fens and forests of East Anglia, young Edmund, son of the ealdorman Eldred, watches his world collapse as the Viking Longships pour onto Saxon shores. When his father returns from a desperate reconnaissance with news of the Danish horde massing beyond the marshes, Edmund understands that the boy he was has already died. What remains must become a warrior. G.A. Henty crafts a breathless adventure through the chaos of Alfred's Wessex, where every river crossing risks death and every Saxon stronghold grows more desperate. Edmund's path threads through battlefield and banquet, fealty and betrayal, as the great king himself struggles to forge unity among quarreling Saxon kingdoms against the raven-banner of the Danes. This is England at its most primal: a land where a young man's courage means the difference between survival and slaughter. First published in 1885, this is Victorian historical fiction at its most rousing. Henty wrote to entertain and educate, embedding real history within a boy's-eye-view of war, leadership, and loyalty. For readers who crave adventure with roots in actual events, who want to feel the weight of a Saxon sword and the fear of a night raid, this remains a stirring portal into the age of Alfred the Great.
