The Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great (c. 849 - c. 899) played a truly unique role in the history of England. His personality was so unusual for his time that not only the British paid tribute to him. In particular, N.V. Gogol wrote the play “Alfred the Great” in his youth. Alfred the Great lived at a turning point for England, when the country, torn apart by internecine strife, was overrun by Viking invaders. In a life-and-death battle, Alfred led his compatriots and won a landslide victory. He reorganized the English army, created a fleet, an administration, and subjugated the small British kings to his power, founding the first royal dynasty that ruled all of England. A man of extraordinary cruelty, he never hesitated to use force and mercilessly punished everyone who stood in his way. But this is only one side of Alfred's life. The king appreciated literary works and Latin culture, and he himself translated the works of the Roman writers Boethius and Orosius into Old English. The book by the English researcher B. A. Lee is full of colorful details previously inaccessible to the domestic reader.