Gudrid the Fair

Hewlett, Maurice, 1861-1923Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 244K words
Chapters: 25

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Gudrid the Fair by Maurice HewlettAuthor: Hewlett, Maurice, 1861-1923,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 27, 2007

Editor's review

The author of this novel, Maurice Hewlett, was a British historical novelist. Drawing on the Norse sagas' accounts of Gudrid's voyages, the book tells the story of a woman's fate as she moves between Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. It does not aim for fast-paced adventure spectacle; instead, in a somewhat elegant and slightly archaic English style, it lays out medieval Norse life and the inner lives of its characters, with a strong lyrical and legendary flavor. Readers used to the pace of modern fiction may need patience at the outset; but those willing to read slowly can sense the author's adaptation and re-creation of the saga tradition, and glimpse one manner of late nineteenth-century British historical fiction. This is a public-domain ebook, suitable as an introductory text for understanding English-language historical fiction on Norse themes, and also for reading alongside the original sagas.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who enjoy Norse sagas and Icelandic themes
Readers who want to learn about medieval Norse life through an English novel
Students studying late nineteenth-century English historical fiction
Readers willing to read classical narrative slowly and appreciate style

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced adventure
Readers with little experience in English reading who need modern, plain English
Readers seeking only Norse historical research rather than literary reading

Reading tips

Read a brief introduction to the Greenland sagas before starting, and the character relationships will be clearer.
Make a small card file of unfamiliar English place names and personal names, noting them as you read to reduce interruptions.
Read alongside a translation of the sagas and note how the author rewrites the legendary female figure.
If the pace feels slow midway, read the voyage sections in the latter half first, then go back and fill in.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the relationship between this book and the Norse sagas?

The novel draws on the Norse sagas' legend of Gudrid's voyages, and Hewlett reworks it literarily. It is not a literal translation of the sagas but a late nineteenth-century British historical novelist's re-creation of medieval material; readers can treat it as a literary interpretation of saga themes.

How difficult is the English, and what background is needed?

The text is late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English, with long sentences and literary vocabulary, somewhat more archaic than modern popular fiction. Readers with university-level English reading ability who are willing to look up words and read slowly will manage; it is not recommended as a first book for English beginners.

Do I need to know Norse history first to understand it?

Systematic study is not necessary, but some background on the legends of settlement in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland will make the characters' motives for migration and the geography easier to understand. If it is entirely unfamiliar, read a short introduction to the sagas before starting the novel.

Comments

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About the author

Hewlett, Maurice, 1861-1923 Author

Maurice Hewlett (1861–1923) was an English writer whose biographical details are limited in publicly available sources, yet his surviving works reveal the character of his writing. Fifteen of his works are held in this collection, drawing chiefly on history and legend while also touching on rural life and human destiny. Representative titles include Little Novels of Italy, The Forest Lovers, The Village Wife's Lament, In a Green Shade, The Spanish Jade, The Fool Errant, The Ruinous Face, and Gudrid the Fair. These titles suggest a preference for restrained storytelling about emotion, adventure, and everyday experience, balancing historical atmosphere with observation of human nature. His works are often grouped under inspirational and coming-of-age reading, and their classical tone suits readers interested in the English literary tradition and historical narrative.