Gunnar's Daughter

by Sigrid Undset, Norway.
Edited with an introduction by Sherrill Harbison.
A swiftly moving tale about a more violent period of Norway's history. Set in Norway and Iceland at the beginning of the eleventh century, this is the story of the beautiful, spoiled Vigalis Gunnarsdotter. who is casually raped by the man she wanted to love. A woman of courage and intelligence, Vigalis is toughened by adversity, raising her child alone, repeatedly defending her autonomy in a world governed by men, rebuilding her life, and restoring her family's honor, until an  unrelenting social code propels her to take the action that again destroys her happiness. More than a historical romance, it depicts characters driven by passion and vengefulness, themes as familiar in Unset's own time- and in ours- as they were in the Saga Age.
Winner of the Nobel Prize in literature.
Paperback, 162pp. 1936/1998