Published by St. Martin's Press Genres: History, Nonfiction
Format: ARC, eBook
Informative, engrossing and extensively researched!
Birka, a Viking town located on an island outside of Stockholm, Sweden, is home to over 1000 Viking graves. One of the graves was excavated in 1878 and the contents led archeologists to believe it was the grave of a Viking warrior. It was presumed that the warrior was male until 2017.
“In 2017, DNA tests revealed to the collective shock of many scholars that a Viking warrior in a high-status grave in Birka, Sweden was actually a woman.”
What was this female warrior’s life like?
Science and history collide in this book. The author has done extensive research using archelogy, history, and DNA in addition to poems, Nordic fables, and literature to show what life might have been like for women living in medieval times. Life was not easy back then and Viking women were tough as nails. Viking women carried weapons, they fought, they survived, they lived, they died. The writer informs readers in the beginning of the book that she is using both fact and fiction in this book. She gives the female Viking a name and imagines what her life was like, what did she experience, how she lived.
The author also looks at religion, how history is told, cultural influences and gender. History -How is it influenced? Who does the telling? How are the facts changed? How does religion affect history? How have society’s perception of women, changed how Viking woman have been thought of in history? Interesting things to consider while reading this book.
The author also mentions Lagertha, portrayed by Katheryn Winnick in the show Vikings. That show was the reason, I was interested in reading this book. I found this book to be fascinating, beautifully written and researched. I loved her take on what a female Viking’s life might have looked like as she met other notable women during her life. The book is rich in detail and provides food for thought.
Interesting, powerful, and Riveting.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
