Jacob Abbott 
King Alfred of England 

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.