''Eric Brighteyes'' is an epic

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

novel by H. Rider Haggard that concerns the adventures of its eponymous principal character in 10th-century

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. The novel was first published in 1890 by Longmans, Green & Company. It was illustrated by

Lancelot Speed Lancelot Speed (13 June 1860 – 31 December 1931) was a coastal painter and a British illustrator of books in the Victorian era, usually of a fantastical or romantic nature. He is probably most well known for his illustrations for Andrew L ...

Plot outline

Eric Thorgrimursson, nicknamed "Brighteyes" for his most notable trait, strives to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair. Her father Asmund, a priest of the old Norse gods, opposes the match, believing Eric to be a man without prospects. Deadlier by far are the intrigues of Swanhild, Gudruda's half-sister and a sorceress, who desires Eric for herself. She persuades the chieftain Ospakar Blacktooth to woo Gudruda, making the two men enemies. Battles, intrigues, and treachery follow.

Background

Haggard wrote the book in late 1888, following a visit to Iceland.

Pioneer of the genre

The novel was an early example (and Haggard's introduction implies that it was the first) of modern efforts in English at pastiching

saga literature The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

. It clearly shows the influence of the pioneering saga translations by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and

Eirikr Magnusson The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

in the late 1860s.

Reception

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...

and

J. Francis McComas Jesse Francis McComas (June 9, 1911 – April 19, 1978) was an American science fiction editor. McComas wrote several stories on his own in the 1950s using both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe. He entered publishing in 1941 as a sale ...

praised ''Eric Brighteyes'', saying that "nothing has been written in English that matches this complete comprehension of the blend of the fury and mysticism that was that greatest of anomalies, the Viking." Pamela Cleaver described ''Eric Brighteyes'' as the best of Haggard's historical novels. She stated that "there is a wonderful atmosphere with saga overtones in this doom-laden tale." In The Stanley Kubrick Archive Oral History Project Web Video Series "Finding and Developing the Story", Kubrick's eldest daughter Katharina mentions the book as one that "he was particularly interested in".

Anthony Frewin Anthony Edward Frewin (born 1947 in Kentish Town, London) is a British writer and erstwhile personal assistant to film director Stanley Kubrick (from 1965 to 1968, and from 1979 to 1999). Frewin now represents the Stanley Kubrick Estate. His novel ...

states the book was "very, very dear to him" and claims that, "had he lived, I'm sure he would have done it" as a film.

Publication

The novel was republished by the

Newcastle Publishing Company The Newcastle Publishing Company was a Southern California-based small trade paperback publisher founded by bookstore owner Al Saunders, active from July 1971 through October 1992, under the editorial direction of Robert Reginald and Douglas Menv ...

under the title ''The Saga of Eric Brighteyes'' as the second volume of the

Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library The Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library was a series of trade paperback books published in the United States by the Newcastle Publishing Company between 1973 and 1980. Presumably under the inspiration of the earlier example set by the Ballantine A ...

series in March 1974, and first issued as a mass market paperback by

Zebra Books Zebra Books is an imprint of American publisher Kensington Publishing Corp. As the company's flagship imprint until the late 80s, it currently publishes women's fiction, romantic suspense and bestselling historical, paranormal and contemporary ro ...

in 1978.

Sequel

A sequel, ''Eric Brighteyes #2: A Witch's Welcome'', written by Sigfriour Skaldaspillir (the pseudonym of

Mildred Downey Broxon Mildred Downey Broxon (born June 7, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Life Broxon was born in Atlanta and grew up in Brazil. She studied psychology and worked as an assistant teacher for the mentally ha ...

) was published in 1979.

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of ''Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whic ...

, ''The ultimate encyclopedia of fantasy : the definite illustrated guide'', Carlton, London, 1998 (p. 187).

References

External links

*
Online version
on The Literature Network *
Images and bibliographic information for various editions
of Eric Brighteyes at SouthAfricaBooks.com {{Rider Haggard 1890 British novels 1890 fantasy novels British fantasy novels Historical novels Novels by H. Rider Haggard Novels set in Iceland Fictional Vikings Novels set in the Viking Age Longman books