Brendan
A legendary quest from Celtic folklore
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- 25,00 kr
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- 25,00 kr
Publisher Description
Among the saints of Ireland, he is second only to Patrick…
Brendan is all set to become an ordained priest under the guidance of his mentor, Bishop Erc, a former druid and one of Saint Patrick’s original disciples. But he harbours an insatiable wanderlust that foils Erc’s plans.
Determined to shape his own destiny, Brendan embarks on a great pilgrimage around Ireland, amassing a loyal band of followers from fellow monks to a pet raven named Preachan. Though he establishes two monasteries and rises to the rank of abbot, one dream refuses to leave him.
And so, gathering a band of brothers to his side, he leads a dangerous voyage into the unknown vastness of the ocean to seek out the mythical Isle of the Blessed.
Part-diary, part-retelling, this is an extraordinary account of a spellbinding adventure set in the thin lines where one world meets another, perfect for fans of Ken Follett and Madeline Miller.
Praise for Brendan
‘A fantastical maritime expedition worthy of Ulysses; her prose is by turns reflective, lyrical and stalwart, delving into the popular legend with a genuine sense of Brendan’s human strengths and frailties’ Publishers Weekly
‘The reader remains captivated from first page to last’ Jean M. Auel, bestselling author of the beloved Earth’s Children series
‘She writes about ancient Ireland as if she just had breakfast there’ Parke Godwin, World Fantasy Award-winning SFF author
‘Morgan Llywelyn is surely the modern-day Bard of the Irish’ Beatrice Small, bestselling historical romance author
‘One of my all-time favourite authors’ Jude Deveraux, bestselling historical romance author
‘The best there is in the field of historical fiction’ Jennifer Wilde, bestselling gothic romance author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran historical author Llywelyn retells the colorful life story of revered Irish monastic saint Brendan the Navigator in the form of a personal journal, written by an elderly Brendan, interspersed with third-person glimpses of the "Great Voyage" he undertook with 14 monks to find the fabled "earthly paradise" of the Western Sea, the Isles of Blest. A contemporary of Saint Patrick, Brendan is brought up by Erc, Bishop of Altraighe-Caille, and early on shows an affinity for seafaring. Restless, headstrong, and curious, the monk Brendan embarked on dangerous "peregrinations," first by land and then by sea, traveling with his pet raven Pr ach n to establish monasteries throughout Ireland. Llywelyn's narrative, laced with fifth-century Irish history and lore, climaxes with a fantastical maritime expedition worthy of Ulysses; her prose is by turns reflective, lyrical, and stalwart, delving into the popular legend with a genuine sense of Brendan's human strengths and frailties.