Why am I passionate about this?
I first experienced the silvery light of the far north in Lapland in 1970 on a university expedition. I had never been anywhere wholly wild before. I was hooked. In the Faroes I discovered the true force of the Atlantic Ocean. The obvious place to settle was Shetland, where I worked in the library and discovered the sagas. Summers spent volunteering on a Viking excavation on the island of Papa Stour inspired my first novel. I became a historical novelist with a particular interest in the liminal spaces where peoples and cultures live ‘on the edges’ Then came Greenland, Vinland, Hy Brasil… there is no end to exploration, even now.
Margaret's book list on Northern Lands
Why did Margaret love this book?
Why would I carry a one-kilo hardback around Greenland and Newfoundland on my back? Because Helge Ingstad was the archaeologist who discovered and excavated L’Anse Aux Meadowes, the first archaeological corroboration of Norse settlement in North America. Also because Land Under the Pole Star does the sort of sea exploration I have only dreamed about, following the Viking voyagers to Greenland and Vinland (wherever that was; personally I find Ingstad’s theories convincing). Not too colonial or patriarchal for modern sensibilities, Ingstad’s project is to relate the old Norse texts to what he finds on the ground. He’s an acute, sympathetic observer of Greenlandic life. I couldn’t have found a better guide, and if you like northern journeys with a scholarly purpose, this is the very book.
1 author picked Land Under the Pole Star as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
pp. 381, black and white photographs, index. "'Land Under the Pole Star' is the exploration reading and historical detection to absorb the general reader and fill vital historical gaps for the expert. And throughout it is an evocative picture of a robust, long-lost society, which holds many important keys to our past." previous owners bookplate…
- Coming soon!