A Lovers' Tale

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. In the storm-lashed world of Midfirth, where whale carcasses, winter sheep, and household duty press hard on daily life, Maurice Hewlett introduces Cormac, a young man of fierce feeling and poet's mind, set in deliberate contrast to his steady brother Thorgils. Cormac's tender devotion to his blind mother, his moonlit wanderings, and his spontaneous verse all mark him as a lover before he has even found an object for his love. That object appears in Stangerd, the formidable, beautiful daughter of Thorkel of Tongue, whose first sighting sets the tale ablaze with desire, wit, and danger. At Nupsdale-stead, Cormac courts her not with blunt pursuit but with singing, paradox, and reverent praise, while Stangerd, guarded and wary, is drawn into his strange, lyrical passion. Their exchanges unfold amid firelight, drinking, and watchful glances, creating a romance at once courtly and precarious. But in this hard Viking society, feeling must contend with bargaining, family power, and practical marriage. Berse, an older and calculating suitor, secures Stangerd through swift negotiation, leaving her furious and Cormac too late. As the forced wedding closes in, the novel turns from blossoming love to grief, secrecy, and the bitter cost of desire thwarted.