Frans G. Bengtsson (1894–1954) was born and raised in the southern Swedish province of Skåne, the son of an estate manager. His early writings, including a doctoral thesis on Geoffrey Chaucer and two volumes of poetry written in what were considered antiquated verse forms, revealed a career-long interest in historical literary modes and themes. Bengtsson was a prolific translator (of Paradise Lost, The Song of Roland, and Walden), essayist (he published five collections of his writings, mostly on literary and military topics), and biographer (his two-volume biography of Charles XII won the Swedish Academy’s annual prize in 1938). In 1941 he published Roede Orm, sjoefarare i vaesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Western Way), followed, in 1945, by Roede Orm, hemma i oesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Eastern Way). The two books were published in a single volume in the United States and England in 1955 as The Long Ships. During the Second World War, Bengtsson was outspoken in his opposition to the Nazis, refusing to allow for a Norwegian translation of The Long Ships while the country was still under German occupation. He died in 1954 after a long illness.
Michael Meyer (1921–2000) was a translator, novelist, biographer, and playwright, best known for his translations of the works of Ibsen and Strindberg. His biography of Ibsen won the Whitbread Prize for Biography in 1971.
Michael Chabon is the author of twelve books, including The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son. He lives in Berkeley, California.
"It's terrific fun, the kind of book that moves the fustiest of
critics to pronounce it a rollicking yarn or something to that
effect. Translation for us mere mortals: There are no boring
parts to skip...Bengtsson writes the most delightful version of
historical fiction...Here is the buried treasure, readers, newly
unearthed. Now, go forth and read." --The Christian Science
Monitor
“Bengtsson’s immersive storytelling and attention to historical
detail bring the Viking Age to life, painting a vivid picture of
the Norse way of life and their powerful longships. With its mix of
action, drama, and even moments of humour, The Long Ships is an
enthralling and memorable read for anyone fascinated by the Viking
era.” —Kennie M, The Review Geek
"The literary equivalent of an action- and intrigue-filled
adventure movie that won't insult your intelligence...Orm is a
charismatic character, and Bengtsson is an infectiously
enthusiastic and surprisingly funny writer — even readers with zero
interest in the Europe of a millennium ago will want to keep
turning the pages. All novels should be so lucky as to age this
well." —NPR
"A household name in Scandinavian literature since its publication
during World War II, the title The Long Ships is recognizable to
English-speakers, if at all, from a tenuously related 1964 epic
with Sidney Poitier. New York Review Books reckons to remedy
that with this 500-page hunk chronicling 20 years in the life of
Red Orm, a son of Skania, born during the reign of Harald
Bluetooth, who first goes a-viking as a teen....And if the
company of so many burly, bearded heroes can weary, Bengtsson's
clear-eyed witnessing of a new world dawning does not." —L
Magazine
“This extraordinary saga of epic adventure on land and sea…is
a masterpiece of historical fiction…The Long Ships should be a rare
delight. And not least of the rewards of reading Mr. Bengtsson's
gorgeous romance is the sly humor that is sprinkled through it.”
-Orville Prescott, The New York Times
Bengtsson “keeps his readers eager for the next chapter. He has a
sharp eye for the picturesque and the comic in daily living, and
though his style is sophisticated he often writes with a kind of
festive abandon.” -Hudson Strode The New York Herald Tribune
“This is a lusty man's book that women, too, will enjoy.” -Margaret
Widdemer, The Philadelphia Inquirer
“The Long Ships has many virtues of the true story-teller's
art…Under the merriment and the fighting there is a great deal of
scholarship as sound as it is imperceptible. Reading this
marvelously good-humored ale-broth of a book, you say: this is how
it must have been to be a Viking chief a thousand years ago. And
not such a bad life at that.” -Burke Wilkinson, The New York
Times
A “wonderful adventure novel…” -Phillip French, The Observer
“Offers lusty Vikings lusting and looting, bedding and battling
across Europe from the Ebro to the Dneiper.” -Time Magazine
“A splendidly robust saga of the Vikings…crackles with humour.”
-Daily Telegraph
“The author and his excellent translator bring that old, warrior
world alive with such vigorous enjoyment and simplicity that the
deeds of those men roving about the world in their dragon ships
seem as marvelous as those of our atomic age.” -Daily Telegraph
“A boldly illuminated picture of the Northmen…confidently
recommended.” -The Times (London)
“A remarkable panorama of a vanished way of life.” -Times Literary
Supplement
“A banquet of adventure by sea and land, with man-size helpings of
battle and murder, robbery and rape.” -New Statesman
“Lusty and uninhibited…a tour de force.” -Evening News
“Still the king of books about Vikings…the Vikings liked to row and
sail and fight. That's what they do in this action-packed epic.”
-Bookmarks Magazine
"Even though The Long Ships was first published in 1941, it remains
the literary equivalent of an action-and intrigue-filled adventure
movie that won't insult your intelligence...Bengtsson is an
infectiously enthusiastic and surprisingly funny writer--even
readers with zero interest in the Europe of a millennium ago will
want to keep turning the pages."
--Michael Schaub, NPR.org
“Since I finished The Long Ships, I’ve been kicking myself for not
having succumbed earlier...a book [of] many pleasures."—Cheston
Knapp, Tin House
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