Books Features

New Medieval Books: Olav Audunssøn

Olav Audunssøn

By Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally

University of Minnesota Press
ISBNs: 978-1-5179-1048-8, 978-1-5179-1160-7, 978-1-5179-1334-2, 978-1-5179-1541-4

Sigrid Undset’s novel, also known in English as The Master of Hestviken, was written between 1925 and 1927 and played a significant role in earning her the Nobel Prize for Literature. The work is divided into four volumes: Vows, Providence, Crossroads, and Winter.

Excerpt from the translator:

Back in 1902, when Sigrid Undset was struggling to write the novel that she later called the “first draft” of Olav Audunssøn, she explained in a letter to her pen pal that she wanted the historical details to create an authentic setting for “the simple story of a man and the people who intervene in his life.” After Peter Nansen rejected her novel, she went on to write numerous “modern” stories that built her reputation as one of Norway’s foremost authors of the day. Eventually she returned to her passion for the Middle Ages with her magnificent chronicle about an impulsive and headstrong girl named Kristin Lavransdatter. Yet, despite the fame and accolades the trilogy brought her, Undset was not content to stop there. The turbulent life story of an introspective, loyal, and complicated boy named Olav had stayed with her for decades. And we have to be thankful that Sigrid Undset finally set down on paper her powerful and deeply moving account of Olav Audunssøn and all the individuals—friends, strangers, and foes—who “intervened” to shape his destiny.

Who is this book for?

Fans of Sigrid Undset will appreciate this four-volume set, as will readers seeking captivating fiction set in the Middle Ages, especially those interested in medieval Norway.

“One of the great modern sagas, and a thoroughly entrancing exploration of the past,” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“Tiina Nunnally’s new translation captures the dark imperatives of a land where clan loyalties and ancient codes of honor have become ensnarled in the struggle between rising powers: the church and the royal court.” ~ New York Times

Olav Audunssøn brings to historical fiction readers what they most cherish, but too rarely find in one book: a vivid, living time and place authentically inhabited by men and women whose joys and woes, wrath and love, resonate in the hearts of men and women to this day.” ~ Historical Novel Society

The Author

Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) is regarded as one of Norway’s great novelists. Her most famous book is a trilogy known as Kristin Lavransdatter, which is also set in medieval Norway. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, “principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages.”

The translator is Tiina Nunnally, who has been lauded for her translations of works in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish into English.

You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website

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