Maria Waddelove was born in Manchester and attended the Hollies Convent Grammar School in West Didsbury. She qualified as an early years teacher and spent several years teaching in inner city Manchester.
She moved to Cheshire with her husband, going on to gain an Open University degree in History and home educate their five children. They both continue to share an interest in history and archaeology—and their grandchildren!
Why did you choose to write about King Alfred?
I was a homeschooling mum and teaching my children about the Anglo-Saxon period in English history. Inevitably I came across King Alfred the Great and the more I read about him, the more I admired his qualities both as a man and as a king. We used the mobile library every fortnight and it was while I was on it with the children that it occurred to me that there were no books on the shelves for young people about this king. It would be good to see one, I thought, and interesting if someone wrote about him as a boy. Then I remember thinking... why should I not try to write it?
What qualities did you see in Alfred?
His courage was the first thing I noticed about Alfred. Forced to flee the throne of Wessex by the Vikings he set up camp in the middle of the Athelney Marshes in Somerset where he summoned his countrymen and from where he took back his crown. Then it was his wisdom in strengthening his kingdom against further attack with the system of defended towns and a better organised army. He seemed to have an almost instinctive understanding that his duty as king was to rule well and to this end he codified the laws, encouraged learning and strengthened the church which had suffered much at the hands of the Vikings. In his prologue to his translation of St Augustine's Soliloquy he uses the analogy of a woodsman going into the forest to find all the best timber he can to build a homestead where he can live in peace and tranquillity. In this he describes his role as king, he must do all he can to find that which is good to create a pleasant and peaceful kingdom. His courage and his wisdom seemed to me to make him the ideal ruler.
How did you set about writing it?
I soon realised that in order to write about King Alfred as a boy I would have to try to understand the character of the man. Fortunately King Alfred is a rare example of someone from the distant past who has left enough of his own writing to discern his character. So I set about reading those texts and also Bishop Asser's Life of King Alfred. However, given that I was writing about the boy Alfred, I then had to reflect that character in its earlier, immature form. So, for example, Alfred as king certainly valued wisdom, the young Alfred would not be aware of it but might have an inquisitive nature and a natural ability to analyse and reflect on that which was going on around him.
How did you create Alfred's world?
Again it took quite a lot of research. There are many books about the Anglo Saxon world which describe law codes, wills, the royal court and how society functioned. There are also poems from that period and of, course, Beowulf, which give some idea of the values of that time. Archaeology was also useful in revealing what a royal estate might look like from the excavated remains and also what artefacts were used. For example, Oslac's estate at the beginning of the book is based loosely on a known royal estate at Cheddar in Somerset and placed at Wellow on the Isle of Wight where Alfred's grandfather might well have had an estate. Oslac's church is based on the Saxon church at Escomb, County Durham. I visited both Wellow and Escomb as part of my research.
How did you shape the plot?
In my research I came across the suggestion that there may be a six month gap in young Alfred's witnessing of documents and I decided to fill that gap. I knew his absence would be explained if he and Athelred were kidnapped by Vikings and that then they would have to escape somehow. But how would they be captured and escape? In many ways the story grew over time as I played with various scenarios and adapted as I went along.
What problems did you come across as you wrote?
Many! From plot holes that had to be filled to losing some characters that made the story unwieldy. Since the story was created over a long period and developed over time I frequently had to check back that it all fitted together! However the greatest problem was finding the voice in which the story is told and that took several re-writes of the early chapters.
From where did some of the ideas come?
Some ideas came from real life. My two eldest boys were keen archers and we frequently had to search for missing arrows in the tall grass in the field next to the house so that gave me the idea of Alfred losing his arrow in the forest and finding the trail of the boar. Living in the countryside makes you appreciate the changing seasons which I liked to describe in the unfolding story, especially as they helped to mark the passing of time. Witnessing the local hunt helped me with the hunting scene as did studying the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with the children which contains a wonderful description of a hunt. My father-in-law was a forester and so, as a family, we had many opportunities to experience forest walks and a few battles with pine cones! I have certainly seen one or two forests that looked quite forbidding so they helped when I was writing the end of the story.
Was it difficult to write while homeschooling?
Yes! There were a lot of demands on my time so often I would find myself thinking about the plot while hoovering the carpet and I almost never went anywhere without one of my research books in my bag just in case I got a few minutes to look at it. I remember both reading and writing while sitting by the poolside as the children had their weekly swimming lessons!
Which storyline pleases you the most?
The cross because a deep friendship develops between Abbot Wulfstan and Alfred and after the Viking attack on the monastery the cross becomes a recurring reminder of that friendship. In the Viking camp Alfred's desire for justice for the abbot hinges on the cross and encourages him to oppose Ragnar in what was actually a very dangerous plan. His loyalty has tremendous repercussions for him when he is finally confronted by Ragnar and justice is done.
What does it feel like to be a published author?
There is a sense of relief that something on which I have worked for so long is finally published and a great pleasure in seeing it sitting on a bookshelf! But I think the greatest pleasure comes when someone tells me they have read and enjoyed the book. Not only is it lovely to create something that didn't exist before but also I hope, in doing so, I have done some justice to Alfred himself who deserves to be remembered...