XXIII HOW ERIC WAS A GUEST AT THE WEDDING-FEAST OF GUDRUDA THE FAIR Eric looked, but said nothing. "Who art thou? ... For Eric could not speak yet a while. ... Oh, that Eric Brighteyes would come home again! Oh, that Eric was here!
Author: H. Rider Haggard
Publisher: Abela Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 9781907256660
Category: Juvenile Fiction
Page: 436
View: 269
ERIC Thorgrimursson (nicknamed 'Brighteyes' for his most notable trait), strives to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair. Her father Asmund, a priest of the old Norse gods, opposes the match, thinking Eric a man without prospects. But deadlier by far are the intrigues of Swanhild, Gudruda's half-sister, a sorceress, who desires Eric for herself. She persuades the chieftain Ospakar Blacktooth to woo Gudrida, making the two men enemies. Battles, intrigues, and treachery follow. From the pen of the master of Victorian action and adventure this novel actually seems rather less dated in the early 21st century than Haggard's other work or the general run of Victorian adventure fiction. Improvements in our understanding of the Viking period have done surprisingly little to falsify Haggard's imagination of its setting, and the book should still hold appeal to any reader interested in the period. Clearly influenced by the pioneering saga translations by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson in the late 1860s ERIC BRIGHTEYES set a standard of quality and fidelity to the saga style that remained unmatched until Poul Anderson's novel The Broken Sword 60 years later. 33% of the net profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charity.