The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman - Softcover

Brown, Nancy Marie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156033976 ISBN 13: 9780156033978

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2008

Synopsis

Five hundred years before Columbus, a Viking woman named Gudrid sailed off the edge of the known world. She landed in the New World and lived there for three years, giving birth to a baby before sailing home. Or so the Icelandic sagas say. Even after archaeologists found a Viking longhouse in Newfoundland, no one believed that the details of Gudrid's story were true. Then, in 2001, a team of scientists discovered what may have been this pioneering woman's last house, buried under a hay field in Iceland, just where the sagas suggested it could be. Joining scientists experimenting with cutting-edge technology and the latest archaeological techniques, and tracing Gudrid's steps on land and in the sagas, Nancy Marie Brown reconstructs a life that spanned--and expanded--the bounds of the then-known world. She also sheds new light on the society that gave rise to a woman even more extraordinary than legend has painted her and illuminates the reasons for its collapse.

About this title

Review:

PRAISE FOR THE FAR TRAVELER "[A] snappily written biography . . . In surprising flashes, Gudrid comes into focus. Brown pursues Gudrid out of admiration for a woman bold and wise. I eagerly pursued this book, which is as much about Brown's adventures as Gudrid's, for the very same reasons."--The New York Times Book Reivew

"Brown's enthusiasm is infectious as she re-teaches us our history."--The Boston Globe

From the Back Cover:

"Brown's enthusiasm is infectious as she re-teaches us our history."" The Boston Globe "Five hundred years before Columbus, a Viking woman named Gudrid sailed off the edge of the known world. She landed in the New World and lived there for three years, giving birth to a baby before sailing home. Or so the Icelandic sagas say. Even after archaeologists found a Viking longhouse in Newfoundland, no one believed that the details of Gudrid s story were true. Then, in 2001, a team of scientists discovered what may have been this pioneering woman s last house, buried under a hay field in Iceland, just where the sagas suggested it could be. Joining scientists experimenting with cutting-edge technology and the latest archaeological techniques, and tracing Gudrid s steps on land and in the sagas, Nancy Marie Brown reconstructs a life that spanned and expanded the bounds of the then-known world. She also sheds new light on the society that gave rise to a woman even more extraordinary than legend has painted her and illuminates the reasons for its collapse. "Brown rightly leaves scholarly work to scholars. Instead, her account presents an enthusiastic appreciation of her education in how fieldwork and literature offer insights into the past." "The Seattle Times""[Brown has] a lovely ear for storytelling."--"Los Angeles"" Times Book Review"NANCY MARIE BROWN is the author of "A Good Horse Has No Color" and "Mendel in the Kitchen." She lives in Vermont with her husband, the writer Charles Fergus."

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0156033976
• ISBN 13: 9780156033978
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320