Iceland

A guide to Iceland's rich literary heritage - from Norse witches to contemporary crime fiction.
Iceland is an island of multiple identities in constant flux, just like its unruly, volcanic ground. Shaped as much by storytelling as it is by tectonic activity, Iceland's literary heritage is one of Europe's richest - and most ancient.
Iceland: A Literary Guide for Travellers takes the literary-minded traveller (either in person or in an armchair) on a vivid and illuminating journey. It follows Iceland's many stories that have been passed down through the generations: told and retold by sheep farmers, psalm-writers, travelling reverends, independence fighters, scholars and hedonists.
From the captivating Norse myths, which continue to inspire contemporary authors such as A. S. Byatt, to gripping Scandinavian crime fiction and Game of Thrones, via Jules Verne and J. R. R. Tolkien, W. H. Auden and Seamus Heaney, Iceland's influence has spread far beyond its frozen shores.
Peopled by Norse maidens and witches, elves and outlaws, and taking the reader and traveller from Reykjavik and the Bay of Smokes to the remote Westfjords and desolate highlands, this is an enthralling portrait of the Land of Ice and Fire.

Marcel Krueger is a writer, translator and editor living in Ireland. He predominantly writes works of non-fiction about places, their history and the journeys in between. He is book editor of the Elsewhere Journal, contributing editor of Sonic Iceland and his articles and essays have been published in the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, Reykjavik Grapevine, The Irish Times and CNN Travel, amongst others. He is the author of Babushka's Journey: The Dark Road to Stalin's Wartime Camps and, together with Paul Sullivan, Berlin: A Literary Guide for Travellers.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
About this book
Introduction
1 Reykjavík & Reykjanes: Urban Iceland
Bay of Smokes
Hafnarfjörður
Mosfellsbær
Keflavík & Reykjanes Peninsula
Akranes & Hvalfjörður
2 Western Region: Snorri Sturluson's Pool
3 Westfjords: Water & Witchcraft
4 Northwestern Region: Monsters & Executioners
5 Northeastern Region: Home of Poets
6 Eastern Region: Heavy Metal in the Fjord
7 Southern Region: Parliaments & Pirates
8 Highlands: Here Outlaws Dwell
Chronology of Events
Bibliography
Index