Eric Brighteyes (A Novel of Viking Age Iceland) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Historical Novel Based on Icelandic SagaBy Henry Rider Haggard
Length12h 53m
About this audiobook
Eric Brighteyes is H. Rider Haggard's ambitious historical romance set in Viking Age Iceland, a world of blood-feud, prophetic dreams, sea-roving violence, and tragic fidelity. Drawing on the tonal gravity and narrative architecture of the Icelandic sagas, the novel follows the heroic Eric, his love for Gudruda, and the destructive intrigues of Swanhild, shaping adventure into a stark meditation on fate, honor, and desire. Its prose deliberately echoes saga plainness while retaining the heightened melodrama and pictorial energy of Victorian romance. Henry Rider Haggard, best known for imperial adventure novels such as King Solomon's Mines and She, was also deeply attracted to archaic societies, heroic codes, and mythic patterns of storytelling. His legal and colonial experiences sharpened his interest in power, inheritance, and social order, while his wide reading in legend and anthropology encouraged him to reimagine distant cultures with imaginative intensity. In Eric Brighteyes, he turns from Africa to the North Atlantic, adapting saga materials to Victorian literary expectations. This novel is recommended for readers interested in historical fiction, Norse literature, and the transformation of medieval narrative into nineteenth-century romance. Though unmistakably a product of its age, it remains compelling for its dramatic atmosphere, fatalistic structure, and vigorous evocation of Icelandic heroic culture.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.5 (215)
Includes Amazon
GenreHistorical Fiction, Romance
Length12 hrs 53 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 25, 2016
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6I HOW ASMUND THE PRIEST FOUND GROA THE WITCH
7II HOW ERIC TOLD HIS LOVE TO GUDRUDA IN THE SNOW ON COLDBACK
8III HOW ASMUND BADE ERIC TO HIS YULE-FEAST
9IV HOW ERIC CAME DOWN GOLDEN FALLS
10V HOW ERIC WON THE SWORD WHITEFIRE
11VI HOW ASMUND THE PRIEST WAS BETROTHED TO UNNA
12VII HOW ERIC WENT UP MOSFELL AGAINST SKALLAGRIM THE BARESARK
13VIII HOW OSPAKAR BLACKTOOTH FOUND ERIC BRIGHTEYES AND SKALLAGRIM LAMBSTAIL ON HORSE-HEAD HEIGHTS
14IX HOW SWANHILD DEALT WITH GUDRUDA
15X HOW ASMUND SPOKE WITH SWANHILD
16XI HOW SWANHILD BID FAREWELL TO ERIC
17XII HOW ERIC WAS OUTLAWED AND SAILED A - VIKING
18XIII HOW HALL THE MATE CUT THE GRAPNEL CHAIN
19XIV HOW ERIC DREAMED A DREAM
20XV HOW ERIC DWELT IN LONDON TOWN
21XVI HOW SWANHILD WALKED THE SEAS
22XVII HOW ASMUND THE PRIEST WEDDED UNNA, THOROD'S DAUGHTER
23XVIII HOW EARL ATLI FOUND ERIC AND SKALLAGRIM ON THE SOUTHERN ROCKS OF STRAUMEY ISLE
24XIX HOW KOLL THE HALF-WITTED BROUGHT TIDINGS FROM ICELAND
25XX HOW ERIC WAS NAMED ANEW
26XXI HOW HALL OF LITHDALE TOOK TIDINGS TO ICELAND
27XXII HOW ERIC CAME HOME AGAIN
28XXIII HOW ERIC WAS A GUEST AT THE WEDDING-FEAST OF GUDRUDA THE FAIR
29XXIV HOW THE FEAST WENT
30XXV HOW THE FEAST ENDED
31XXVI HOW ERIC VENTURED DOWN TO MIDDALHOF AND WHAT HE FOUND
32XXVII HOW GUDRUDA WENT UP TO MOSFELL
33XXVIII HOW SWANHILD WON TIDINGS OF ERIC
34XXIX HOW WENT THE BRIDAL NIGHT
35XXX HOW THE DAWN CAME
36XXXI HOW ERIC SENT AWAY HIS MEN FROM MOSFELL
37XXXII HOW ERIC AND SKALLAGRIM GREW FEY
38XXXIII HOW ERIC AND SKALLAGRIM FOUGHT THEIR LAST GREAT FIGHT
39Analysis
40Reflection
41Memorable Quotes
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