{"product_id":"englands-darling-the-victorian-cult-of-alfred-the-great","title":"‘England’s darling’","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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’?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating study that will be enjoyed by scholars of history, cultural history, literature and art history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Manchester University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54027642634584,"sku":null,"price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780719073571.jpg?v=1777117527","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/englands-darling-the-victorian-cult-of-alfred-the-great","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}