W G Collingwood

The Life and Death of Cormak the Skald: Cormak's Saga - Myths, Legend and Folk Tales from Around the World W G Collingwood

Publisher Marketing: This is the story of a poet, poor and proud, with all the strength of a Viking and all the weakness of genius. He loves a fine lady, a spoiled child; who bewitches him, and jilts him, and jilts him again. In true Viking style he fights for her, kills for her, writes verse for her, and rises, for her sake, to the height of all that a man in his age could achieve. Then, after years, he has her at his feet, and learns of her heartlessness and worthlessness. He bids her farewell; but in the end dies with her name on his lips. The motive of the book is very modern, yet at the same time as ancient as the human race itself. It is dramatic and imaginative in the sense that it is told by one who was an artist in his craft of saga-telling. The diction is of the simplest and there is no fine writing, but the plot is balanced like a Greek play and the action drives along to its close. The result is conveyed without a word of moralizing. The characters are broadly drawn, and their types are still valid today. Without needless detail, there are touches enough of realism. It reads like a novel, and yet it is a true story. 33% of the net profit will be donated to charities for educational purposes.