"England's Darling"
The Victorian Cult of Alfred the Great

In the nineteenth century, Alfred the Great was a figure who rivalled King Arthur in the popular imagination. This book asks why Alfred was so important in Victorian Britain, examines the ways in which he was rewritten by authors and artists of the time, and investigates how Alfred is no longer a national icon.

The book examines the ways in which Alfred was rewritten by nineteenth-century authors and artists, and asks how beliefs about the Saxon king's reign and achievements related to nineteenth-century ideals about leadership, law, religion, commerce, education and the Empire. The book concludes by addressing the most interesting enigma in Alfred's reception history: why is the king no longer 'England's darling'? A fascinating study that will be enjoyed by scholars of history, cultural history, literature and art history.

1. The day of a thousand years: Alfred and the Victorian mania for commemoration
2. Medievalism, Anglo-Saxonism, and the nineteenth century
3. Turning a king into a hero: nine hundred years of pre-Victorian reinvention
4.
The hero as king: Alfred and nineteenth-century politics
5. 'The root and spring of everything we love in church and state': Alfred and Victorian progress
6. 'The most perfect character in history': Alfred and Victorian morality
7. 'Never to be confused with King Arthur': Alfred after Victoria