The Dragon and the Raven

The Dragon and the Raven chronicles a period of history that would become critical to British identity and culture — the conflict between the Saxons of King Alfred the Great and the Great Heathen Army of Viking invaders from Scandinavia. While certainly a real-life monarch and general, the details of King Alfred's life are shrouded in mystery and mythology, and his legacy draws more from his cultural symbolism as it does from actual historical record.

It's fitting, then, that G.A. Henty's 1885 book is not an academic examination of Alfred, but is instead a historical adventure. The book places Ealdorman Edmund — himself a complete invention of the book's author — alongside the legendary Alfred the Great, as they fight for the heart, the soul, and the continued existence of the fledging nation of 'England.' The jingoistic and nationalistic tone of the book may feel problematic in the modern age, particularly when viewed alongside some of Henty's own political and social views, but the work remains an interesting contribution to the rich mythology of Britain in the Dark Ages.