Chosen as one of Dominic Sandbrook’s Top Twenty History Books of All Time
‘This is a lovely book, written by a young Oxford historian who clearly adores her subject. Her story sweeps from Iceland and Greenland to Russia and the Black Sea, taking in manuscripts, monsters, dragons and runestones. It’s learned, engaging and beautifully illustrated, and she’s brilliant at exploring the real history behind all those blood-curdling stories of Odin, Loki and Thor.’
Chosen as a ‘2017 Book of the Year’ for the Times Literary Supplement
‘Beyond the Northlands splendidly reminds us what a lot else there is to know about [the Vikings], and also how strange they were. […] Adventurous scholarship indeed.’
Times Literary Supplement
‘A book that is entertaining as well as erudite… There is no doubting Barraclough’s meticulous and insightful scholarship.’
Literary Review
‘a delight’, ‘a highly entertaining and informative sense of the real Norse world view’.
Times Higher Education
‘that delightful trick of weaving lightly worn serious scholarship into a publisher- and educated general reader-pleasing “journey” narrative’, ‘her voice is charming, wise’.
Times Literary Supplement
‘a book that is entertaining as well as erudite […] there is no doubting Barraclough’s meticulous and insightful scholarship’.
Wall Street Journal
‘Beyond the Northlands admirably breaks free of both sets [of old viking stereotypes] and bursts into the wide field of Old Norse life and literature beyond the classics’, ‘blessedly, for all the rigor of the endnotes, there is not a trace of academic obfuscation’.
Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and The Gospel of Loki
‘an excellent, erudite, yet light-hearted glimpse into Norse culture, exploration, and the melding of story and history. […] this is an immensely appealing, accessible resource, whatever your level of knowledge’.
BBC World Histories Magazine
‘What makes Beyond the Northlands so effective is Barraclough’s clear relish for the retelling of the sagas and her lightness of touch in producing a real sense of the vastness and diversity of the world that the Vikings inhabited. The resulting book is a vibrant account that evokes the spirit of the Viking age in a thoroughly entertaining, yet historically sound, fashion’.
Moira Briggs, Vulpes Libris
Moira reviews one of the funniest, and most fascinating books on the Norse Sagas that she’s ever read …
Lively … entertaining … I mean, you don’t expect to find yourself honking inelegantly over the Vinland Sagas.
Northern Echo
‘arguably, what may distinguish her from other Viking scholars is her lively style’.
Library Journal (USA)
‘clever and engaging style’, ‘clarity, humor and a sense of relevance’, ‘thoroughly researched and well rooted in historical context, yet written with wry charm and a thorough command of language’.
Shelf Awareness (USA)
‘Bridging many gaps, Beyond the Northlands is a magnificent contribution to the understanding of a fierce and poetic people’.
Minerva, Diana Bentley
‘Barraclough provides a confident, compelling narrative of their brutal, challenging world and a valuable companion to their sagas.’