The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red's Saga contain the first ever descriptions of North America, a bountiful land of grapes and vines, discovered by Vikings five centuries before Christopher Columbus. Written down in the early thirteenth century, they recount the Icelandic settlement of Greenland by Eirik the Red, the chance discovery by seafaring adventurers of a mysterious new land, and Eirik's son Leif the Lucky's perilous voyages to explore it. Wrecked by storms, stricken by disease and plagued by navigational mishaps, some survived the North Atlantic to pass down this compelling tale of the first Europeans to talk with, trade with, and war with the Native Americans.

Set in the south of Iceland, around the time of the conversion to Christianity in the year 1000, this saga follows a fifty-year blood feud from its violent beginnings to its tragic end. The spare and simple narrative centres on Njal Thorgeirsson who, with his family, is burnt alive in his home by a band of enemies. The saga exposes the inadequacy of the law to resolve deep human conflicts and the cathartic power of vengeance.

The Penguin Classics list of medieval sagas grows ever more impressive with these two thrilling Norse sagas
One of the best -loved works of Icelandic literature, this stirring tale of war and romance follows three generations of strong women, wise leaders, and hotheaded warriors. The only saga rumored to have been written by a woman, it tells of the centuries predating 1245, when magic rites and sorcery clashed with the spread of Christianity throughout a rapidly changing Viking world.