The Little Horse

Thorvald Steen

Translated by James Anderson

 

5 x 8 inches, 202pp. November 2014

ISBN : 9780857422156

Rs  495.00 (HB)
$24.00 (HB)
£17.00 (HB)

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Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic politician, writer, and historian living during the twelfth century. He was a man of great political influence, and his writings are still researched and valued today. Snorri was killed on September 22, 1241, in Reykholt, where he lived the last years of his life, and The Little Horse is a novel about his final five days.

 

Snorri, knowing his end is near, begins to write a saga of his own life. He wants to refute all those who oppose him in Norway and Iceland, and defend himself against rumors that he is power hungry and a deceitful womanizer. He is haunted by the fear that his son Orækja will turn against him, and waits to meet Margaret, the woman he loves, who challenges him in every possible way. Meanwhile, assassins in the distance prepare to carry out their orders to end his life.

 

This creative, beautifully constructed novel reimagines the final days of this Icelandic hero, providing a wonderful new perspective on the politics and culture of the period.

Thorvald Steen has published a wide range of novels, plays, collections of poems and short stories, children's books and essays. His Norwegian breakthrough came in 1992 with a cycle of poems Ilden, and shortly afterwards, he achieved international recognition with his creative historical novels. In 2006, Steen wrote the coming-of-age novel The Weight of Snow Crystals, followed in 2008 with the freestanding sequel The Longest Leap .

 

James Anderson’s literary translations from the Norwegian include Berlin Poplars by Anne B. Ragde, Nutmeg by Kristin Valla, and several books by Jostein Gaarder.

Fiction