Composed in medieval Iceland, Hrolf's Saga is one of the greatest of all mythic-legendary sagas, relating half-fantastical events that were said to have occurred in fifth-century Denmark. It tells of the exploits of King Hrolf and of his famous champions, including Bodvar Bjarki, the 'bear-warrior': a powerful figure whose might and bear-like nature are inspired by the same legendary heritage as Beowulf. Depicting a world of wizards, sorceresses and 'berserker' fighters - originally member...

The most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature and our most extensive source of Norse mythologyWritten in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, The Prose Edda tells ancient stories of the Norse creation epic and recounts the battles that follow as gods, giants, dwarves and elves struggle for survival. In prose interspersed with powerful verse, the Edda shows the gods' tragic realization that the future holds one final cat...

The epic Viking Age stories that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien and Wagner's Ring cycleWritten in thirteenth-century Iceland but based on ancient Norse poetry cycles, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend and sheer human drama. It tells of the cursed treasure of the Rhine, a sword reforged and a magic ring of power, and at its heart are the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires magical knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. One of the great books...

Medieval Iceland was unique amongst Western Europe, with no foreign policy, no defence forces, no king, no lords, no peasants and few battles. It should have been a utopia yet its literature is dominated by brutality and killing. The reasons for this, argues Jesse Byock, lie in the underlying structures and cultural codes of the islands' social order. 'Viking Age Iceland' is an engaging, multi-disciplinary work bringing together findings in anthropology and ethnography interwoven with hist...

In a land of ice, great warriors search for glory...When a dragon threatens the people of the north, only one man can destroy the fearsome beast. Elsewhere, a mighty leader gathers a court of champions, including a noble warrior under a terrible curse. The Earth's creation is described; tales of the gods and evil Frost Giants are related; and the dark days of Ragnarok foretold.Journey into a realm of legend, where heroes from an ancient age do battle with savage monsters, a...

Part of a new series Legends from the Ancient North, Beowulf is one of the classic books that influenced JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings'So the company of men led a careless life,All was well with them: until One beganTo encompass evil, an enemy from hell.Grendel they called this cruel spirit...'J.R.R. Tolkien spent much of his life studying, translating and teaching the great epic ...

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic epic of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle and a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris.A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung.Byock's comprehensive introduction explores the history, legends, ...

**Brimming with life and drama, this is a magnificent journey into two thousand years of history, from the acclaimed historian of Europe'Epic and witty'** Observer'Erudite, entertaining' Helena Attlee'Charming' *Wall Street Journal**'***Delightful and authoritative' Judith Herrin'Compelling...enjoyable' Financial Times**'**All roads lead to Rome.' It's ...

**‘A book that everyone should read’ The TimesA harrowing, heart-rending first-hand account of the bombing of Nagasaki – and the acts of human kindness left in its wake.**On 9th August 1945, the Japanese city of Nagasaki is hit by an atomic bomb. Forty thousand people are killed instantly. Doctor Takashi Nagai is not one of them.Pulling himself, broken and bloodied, from the wreckage that was once the city’s university hospital, Takashi bundles together a t...

A panicked man turns to Maigret for help—and dies before the detective can learn his identity. Who was he, and what led to his brutal murder?One morning, Maigret receives several phone calls from an increasingly panicked man. He’s being followed, he says, and his pursuers want to kill him. Before Maigret can track down the caller, his lifeless body is thrown from a car. Yet his identity remains a mystery. Who was he, and what led to his brutal murder?As Mai...

'POETIC AND FIERCE' - Olivette Otele, author of AFRICAN EUROPEANS**'****THIS SWEEPING HISTORY RESTORES WOMEN TO THE CENTRE OF AFRICAN POLITICAL POWER...**BOTH ACCESSIBLE AND RIGOROUS' The Observer'A RICH, SUMPTUOUS AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN TAPESTRY' - Candice Carty-Williams, author of QUEENIE'A SEARING, NOURISHING JOURNEY THROUGH A HISTORY THE WORLD NEEDS' - Bettany...

Dawn is breaking over the Guilleries, a rugged mountain range in Catalonia frequented by wolf hunters, brigands, deserters, race-car drivers, ghosts, and demons. In a remote farmhouse called Mas Clavell, an impossibly old woman lies on her deathbed. Family and caretakers drift in and out. Meanwhile, all the women who have lived and died in that house are waiting for her to join them. They are preparing to throw her a party.As day turns to night, four hundred years’ worth of stories...