3 h 37 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What proves a hero’s worth when the sea is dangerous, feuds run deep, and a good name matters?
In Viking Tales, Jennie Hall retells Norse stories drawn from the old sagas of Iceland and Norway. Sea kings, farmers, sailors and their families share a world of longships and hard winters. A young man shows his worth through action: handling a ship, facing a quarrel or making a hard choice.
The sea runs through these adventures, carrying people to raid, trade, explore and settle new lands. Beneath the journeys lie questions of courage, loyalty and keeping your word. Hall’s clear, steady storytelling offers an easy way into the values these sagas prize, including the resolve to face fate without complaint.
What you’ll discover
- Heroes tested by deeds Meet heroes whose worth rests on what they do when difficult choices arrive.
- Lives shaped by water Follow longships across a world where the sea carries both adventure and danger.
- More than sea kings Discover farmers, sailors and families alongside the heroes of these Norse stories.
- The weight of loyalty Explore a world where keeping your word and guarding your name matter deeply.
- Tales to share aloud Enjoy short, clear sentences that invite you to share the adventures aloud.
Who will love it
Readers who love sea voyages, dragon ships, and gods like Thor and Odin will find plenty here. It also suits anyone curious about how Norse families lived, ate, fought, and first reached America.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Winter firelight turns families into storytellers
- A boy king grows up on iron and legend
- A proud woman's message sparks a mighty vow
- Ruling all Norway sends free men sailing west
- Ingolf crosses the ocean to claim an empty land
- Eric the Red faces exile with a daring plan
- The sea offers freedom without a promise of safety
Who’s who
- Harald HairfairA boy king who vows to rule all Norway, and who will not cut his hair until he does.
- GydaThe proud, herb-wise daughter of King Eric, who dares Harald to make himself king of every part of Norway.
- Olaf the CraftyHarald's tooth thrall and storyteller, once a young sea raider, who teaches the boy about Valhalla and war.
- IngolfA Norseman who flees Harald's rule and sails across a cold ocean to settle Iceland.
- Eric the RedA fiery, cheerful outlaw who finds and names Greenland and persuades Icelanders to settle there.
- Leif EricssonEric's son, a handsome and wise sailor who is blown off course to a land of grapes.
- TyrkerA little German who loves Leif and recognises wild grapes when he sees them.
- Gudrid and ThorfinnA wise young widow and the generous trader she marries, who lead a settlement to Wineland.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 3 h 37 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Wikingergeschichten
by Jennie Hall · 1902
A young king vows not to cut his hair until he rules all Norway, and his rivals sail west to find new homes.
Easy read2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Where do you go when one king rules every hill and fjord around you? Jennie Hall's Viking Tales answers with the voyages of Norsemen, told as lively scenes.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Winter firelight turns families into storytellers
In Iceland the winters are long and dark, and families sit around a central fire with wool in their hands. Fathers want their children to grow brave and wise, so they tell tales of Norway's kings, far voyages, and great battles.
Singers called skalds carry these tales with a harp. At the midsummer gathering where men make laws, a skald climbs a stone and begins to sing, and listeners come running, shouting for a saga. Wealthy men invite the best skalds home for the winter, and even the King of Norway sends for them.
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What is Viking Tales by Jennie Hall about?
It connects Norse sagas through Harald's ambition, Ingolf's search for a home, and the later sea adventures of Eric, Leif, and Thorfinn.
Is Viking Tales a true story?
It retells old Icelandic sagas, which mix history and legend. Harald, Ingolf, Eric, and Leif are figures from those tales.
Who are skalds and what are sagas?
Skalds are singers who recite tales to a harp, and sagas are the songs and stories they tell. Later, men wrote the sagas on sheepskin so they would not be lost.
The author
Jennie Hall
1875–1921 · American children's author
Jennie Hall (1875–1921) was an American author and teacher. She taught history and English at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. Her book Viking Tales was published in 1902. She lived in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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