"Off at last! Farewell comfort, ease, good food, snug beds! Welcome
hard riding, rain and cold, scanty diet and the ground for a
couch!" So begins Sabine Baring-Gould's account of his journey on
horseback around Iceland in 1862. Aged twenty-eight, the young
writer and teacher was fascinated by the tradition of the Icelandic
sagas, and this was the catalyst for his adventure and the book
that emerged from it. His voyage took him from the then tiny
settlement of Reykjavik through remote and hostile terrain, passing
through the empty expanse of Iceland's countryside. He observed
mountains and glaciers, volcanoes and geysers, wondering at the
wild beauty of the landscape. He also recorded the rich flora and
fauna that he saw--and, to his chagrin, that his companions shot.
But Baring-Gould's account is more than a travelogue. Throughout he
recreates and interprets Icelandic sagas, bringing to life the
extraordinary characters and events of these age-old stories.
Evoking a world of trolls, witches and magic, he explores the
mythology and language of Icelandic lore. He also turns a critical
eye on his fellow travellers and the Icelanders he meets, passing
judgment on food such as stuffed puffin, pungent fish and
ptarmigan. By turns amusing and acerbic, Baring-Gould provides a
detailed and colourful account of an Icelandic society that has
long since disappeared. Illustrated with Baring-Gould's own
drawings, Iceland: Its Scenes and Sagas is an entertaining and
eccentric insight into a world of myth and legend as well as a
classic of natural and human observation.
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