WAREHAM Vikings clash with Alfred the Great in a new historical novel.

Alfred of Wessex, Book Two: Vengeance is the second instalment of Michael Carden’s eponymous series.

It follows the Anglo-Saxon monarch as he navigates a divided kingdom amid the looming threat of a Danish invasion.

Events take place at the Wareham ramparts, which can still be found today, as Alfred and his men besiege Vikings held up in the town.

Michael finished his manuscript more than 20 years ago but was unable to secure a publisher as bestselling author Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom was already set to be released.

Literary agents informed him there wasn’t the appeal for two works covering Alfred the Great in such a short space of time.

Unperturbed, Michael began writing humorous novels.

Alfred defends Wareham from Vikings. Photo: Google.

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One of these – The Full English – charted a character’s cycle ride from Dorset to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, fuelled by man-flu and the chaos of a mid-life crisis.

It was described by Dorset Life magazine as “the sort of book that can put a smile on your face even when it is a cold, grey winter outside”.

But the Covid-19 pandemic prompted Michael to revisit the draft of his Alfred novel, and after some revisions he self-published it in 2022.

It relishes the Purbeck setting.

“Wareham is a fascinating place with so much history,” Michael said.

“Particularly the take-over of the town by the Vikings, and the siege led by Alfred the Great.

“I hope readers in Dorset enjoy my take on the events.”

The Alfred of Wessex series is available now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.