The biography of Alfred the Great, the ninth-century king who fended off the Vikings and converted their leader to Christianity.
King of Wessex from 871 to 886 AD, and king of the Anglo-Saxons until 899 AD, the man who would later be known as Alfred the Great saved his realm from the Vikings even as surrounding kingdoms fell to them. He then made the conversion of the Vikings’ leader, Guthrum, to Christianity a condition of their peace treaty—and eventually became renowned for his beneficent rule, sharp intellect, and reforms in the areas of education, law, and the military.
This biography, richly detailed and with a distinctly witty touch, brings Alfred and his world to vivid life.
Jacob Abbott was born at Hallowell, Maine, to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820 and studied at Andover Theological Seminary afterward. From 1825 to 1829 he was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College. He founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was its principal from 1829–1833. Later, he was a principal of Abbott’s Institute, and then the Mount Vernon School for Boys in New York City. He was a prolific author and wrote juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He is best-known for his Rollo series.