‘England’s darling’: The Victorian cult of Alfred the Great - Softcover

Parker, Joanne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071907357X ISBN 13: 9780719073571

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 2014

Synopsis

For much of the nineteenth century, King Alfred was as important as King Arthur in the British popular imagination. A pervasive cult of the King developed which included the erection of at least four public statues, the completion of more than twenty-five paintings, and the publication of over a hundred texts, by authors ranging from Wordsworth to minor women writers. By 1852, J.A. Froude could describe Alfred’s life as ‘the favourite story in English nurseries’; in 1901, a national holiday marked the thousandth anniversary of his death, organised by a committee including Edward Burne Jones, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hughes.

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Joanne Parker is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Exeter

Review:

"Meticulously researched using an impressive range of materials, it represents a substantive addition to our empirical knowledge of this period." - Clare Pettitt, King's College, UK

About this edition

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 071907357X
• ISBN 13: 9780719073571
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264