Tom Holland writes novels as well as history books, and this shows in his obvious relish in writing battle scenes, such as the one this book starts out with: the Battle of Brunanburh at which Athelstan, leading an army of Saxons and Mercians, defeated the combined forces of Norsemen and Scots. Holland then goes back in time, detailing the reigns of Athelstan, his father Edward, and his grandfather, Alfred the Great, explaining how matters finally reached the crisis point at Brunanburh. It's a fascinating look at a time period and a king that don't get a lot of mention these days, but Athelstan was a pretty interesting guy. A skilled and experienced military leader, he was also devoutly Christian and well educated; having consolidated and indeed expanded the kingdom he inherited, Athelstan set about forming a centralized government, writing laws and charters (the Grately Code), and also having a standardized currency minted. He defended and expanded his holdings not only through conquest, but through alliances and advantageous marriages- of his sisters; Athelstan himself remained unmarried. With all of this going on, Athelstan still found time to fret over the welfare of his people, writing laws to ensure that the destitute were cared for... when Holland writes about this and other examples of how Athelstan's thoughts and actions were informed by his faith, it's a precursor to a theme he would expand upon in his later book, Dominion.
A good deal of Athelstan's character and abilities were formed under the care of his aunt Athelflaed (daughter of Alfred the Great) and her husband Athelred Lord of Mercia, because he was sent to their Court to be educated. Athelflaed is a fascinating character in her own right and I would have liked to learn more about her... fortunately Tom Holland just happens to have written an account of the Lady of Mercia's life as well. I shall have to add it to my reading list.
The book comes full circle in its final chapters, describing the events leading up to the fateful battle at Brunanburh; Athelstan made a rare blunder, concentrating on expanding his kingdom over the Channel to the point where the fractious Northern rebels took advantage of his distraction to attempt to overthrow his northern rule. Winning a decisive if costly victory there, Athelstan preserved and solidified a united kingdom as it were, making his title Rex totius Britanniae (king of the whole of Britain) an entirely appropriate one.