thelfld, Tim Clarkson
thelfld, Tim Clarkson
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Ӕthelflӕd
The Lady of the Mercians

Author: Tim Clarkson

Narrator: Hannah Curtis

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/26/2022


Synopsis

This Dark Ages biography chronicles the life of one of the period's most famous women: the ruler of Mercia who took England back from the Vikings.

At the end of the ninth century, a large part of what is now England was controlled by the Vikings—warlike Scandinavians who had been attacking the British Isles for more than a hundred years. Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, was determined to regain the conquered lands. But when he died in 899 A.D., the task passed to his son Edward. In the early 900s, Edward led a great fight against the Viking armies, assisted by the English rulers of Mercia: Lord Æthelred and his wife Æthelflæd, who was also Edward's sister.

After her husband's death, Æthelflæd ruled Mercia on her own, leading the army to war and working with her brother to achieve their father's aims. Known to history as the Lady of the Mercians, she earned a reputation as a capable general who was feared by her enemies. In this authoritative biography, Tim Clarkson tells her remarkable life story from childhood to her vital role in saving England from the Vikings.

About Tim Clarkson

Tim Clarkson is an independent researcher and historian who previously worked in academic librarianship. He gained an MPhil in archaeology and a PhD in medieval history, both from the University of Manchester. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of the editorial board of the Heroic Age online journal.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Juliew.

Honestly,I didn't learn too much more about AEthelflaed than I did from a previous book I had read about her.I do realize information is scarce on her personal life and the author seems to have done his best putting out what he could find.Mostly though it was about the events and people around her a......more

Goodreads review by Amy

Tim Clarkson's biography on Æthelflæd (c. 870-918 CE), the daughter of King Alfred the Great and his wife Eahlswith, is a must-read for anyone interested in this incredible woman and Anglo-Saxon history as a whole. Clarkson presents a chronological telling of Æthelflæd's tale. He begins first with a......more

Goodreads review by Stephen

Let me say from the outset that I really enjoyed this book; it is well written and presents the era clearly and concisely. Against that I simply do not recognise some of the other reviews on Amazon - to me it seems like they have read a completely different book! The book, however, suffers from one m......more

Goodreads review by Jacob

This was an enjoyable and easily-digestible biography of a lesser-known English heroine. The Lady of the Mercians is probably the most consequential medieval woman that nobody has ever heard of. In that regard, I think the author strikes the right balance between offering context around Wessex/Merci......more