Publisher Description

A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world's greatest literary treasures--as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norse men and women who first settled Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured further west--to Greenland and, ultimately, the coast of North America itself.The ten Sagas and seven shorter tales in this volume include the celebrated "Vinland Sagas," which recount Leif Eiriksson's pioneering voyage to the New World and contain the oldest descriptions of the North American continent.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.

Author Biography

Jane Smiley's ten works of fiction include The Age of Grief, The Greenlanders, Ordinary Love and Good Will, Moo, A Thousand Acres (which won the Pulitzer Prize), and most recently the bestselling Horse Heaven.

Table of Contents

The Sagas of Icelanders List of Illustrations and Tables
Preface by Jane Smiley
Introduction by Robert Kellogg
Further Reading
A Note on the Texts
Sagas
Egil's Saga (trans. Bernard Scudder)
The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal (trans. Andrew Wawn)
The Saga of the People of Laxardal (trans. Keneva Kunz)
Bolli Bollason's Tale (trans. Keneva Kunz)
The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey's Godi (trans. Terry Gunnell)
The Saga of the Confederates (trans. Ruth C. Ellison)
Gisli Sursson's Saga (trans. Martin S. Regal)
The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue (trans. Katrina C. Attwood)
The Saga of Ref the Sly (trans. George Clark)
The Vinland Sagas:
The Saga of the Greenlanders (trans. Keneva Kunz)
Eirik the Red's Saga (trans. Keneva Kunz)
Tales
The Tale of Thorstein Staff-struck (trans. Anthony Maxwell)
The Tale of Halldor Snorrason II (trans. Terry Gunnell)
The Tale of Sarcastic Halli (trans. George Clark)
The Tale of Thorstein Shiver (trans. Anthony Maxwell)
The Tale of Audun from the West Fjords (trans. Anthony Maxwell)
The Tale of the Story-wise Icelander (trans. Anthony Maxwell)
Reference Section:
Illustrations and Diagrams: Ships; The Farm; Social and Political Structure
Glossary
Index of Characters

Review

"One of the great marvels of World Literature.... This is a dream come true." --Ted Hughes"A testimony to the human spirit's ability not only to endure what fate may send it but to be renewed by the experience." --Seamus Heaney"The glory of the Sagas is indisputable." --Milan Kundera"Generally excellent, accurate and readable, these translations are sure to become the standard versions." --The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Review Quote

"One of the great marvels of World Literature.... This is a dream come true." -- Ted Hughes "A testimony to the human spirit's ability not only to endure what fate may send it but to be renewed by the experience." -- Seamus Heaney "The glory of the Sagas is indisputable." -- Milan Kundera "Generally excellent, accurate and readable, these translations are sure to become the standard versions." -- The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Details