Two days ago, the Rosemary Sutcliff memorial Twitter account shared that October 26 was the day Alfred the Great died in 899 CE. It made me think about the 1969 film about him, which starred David Hemmings (not to mention young Michael York and Ian McKellan). I saw it on television some time in the early 1970s, and I'm just realizing it may have had a big effect on motivating my interest in history.
I had come to reading for pleasure somewhat late, at least in my family, and historical novels were not part of the picture yet. The movie's enactment of that time in history, those people, may have been what made me able to see beyond the words that so many other people find dry in history (and social studies) books, and made me seek out historical fiction that does more to bring the past to life.
I went on to major in history in college.
So thanks, producer Bernard Smith, director Clive Donner, and everyone else who made the movie! Thanks to whichever U.S. network it was that showed it on broadcast t.v.
What a time it was to be a live in the early 1970s.
David Hemmings in a scene from Alfred the Great.
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