Description
Following the career of King Alfred further and revealing more of his claim to “the Great,” Mr. Hodges switches narrators from the secretary, Alfred Dane-Leg (The Namesake, 1964) to a secondary source, the son of Hildis who as a little girl is caught up in the struggle between Christian Saxon and pagan Northman. In the period of a year or so, Alfred releases Guthorm the Dane and his followers, provoking Guthorm’s scorn by his magnanimity and words of advice, then rallies his forces to defeat Guthorm’s vengeful attack upon Wessex, finally converting him to Christianity and establishing him as king of a buffer state. The import is obvious, vindicating Alfred’s assertion that “if we and not Guthorm are to win the end, surely it must not be because our brutalities are stronger than his, but because our purposes are greater.” The historical events emerge from a rich tapestry of life in palace and peasant hut (Hildis and her brothers cornered by a wild boar, King Alfred inadvertently burning an old woman’s bread) in which each incident has later implications. Characterization is equally rich: Guthorm, his head covered to hide his baldness, “suffering much from toothache.” Mr. Hodges’ typically robust illustrations close in on conspiratorial moments, stand back to survey a swirling scene. Try this on your Treece readers: it demands a little more, perhaps, repays in full measure of historical insight and individual understanding.
