PRELUDE. A SEASON IN HELL: COPENHAGEN 1969
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway, From the Icelandic of Snorri Sturlason, translated by Samuel Laing (1844). Freely available online.
Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft, edited by Richard Holmes (1987).
Northbound: Travel, Encounters and Constructions, 1700–1830, edited by Karen Klitgaard Povlsen (2007).
English Historical Documents, Volume I, c.500–1042, edited by Dorothy Whitelock, general editor, David C. Douglas (1979).
CHAPTER 1: STONES
Stones, Ships, and Symbols: The Picture Stones of Gotland, From the Viking Age and Before by Erik Nylen and Jan Peder Lamm (1988).
The Saga of the Jomsvikings, translated and introduced by Lee M. Hollander (1988).
Norwegian Maritime Explorers and Expeditions Over the Past Thousand Years, edited by O. K. Johansen, translated by Dahlia Pfeffer, Veronica Harrington Hansen and Richard Lawson (1999). Includes an English translation of Ottar’s account at the Wessex court of King Alfred.
The Annals of St-Bertin, edited by Janet Nelson (1991).
Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, edited and translated by Caroline Stone and Paul Lunde (2011).
Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922, novel by Michael Crichton (1976). Filmed in 1997 as The 13th Warrior.
CHAPTER 2: THE CONVERSION OF THE ICELANDERS
Íslendingabók and Kristni Saga, edited and translated by Siân Grønlie (2006).
History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, by Adam of Bremen, translated by Francis J. Tschan (2005).
Sturlunga Saga, translated by George R. Thomas and Julia H. McGrew (1970).
What Price Cod? A Tugmaster’s View of the Cod Wars, by Norman Storey (1992).
The Royal Navy in The Cod Wars: Britain and Iceland in Conflict 1958–1976, by Andrew Welch (2006).
The Norse Atlantic Saga, edited and translated by Gwyn Jones (1986). This includes translations of The Book of the Icelanders, The Book of the Settlements, The Saga of the Greenlanders, Eirik the Red’s Saga, Karlsefni’s Voyage to Vinland and The Story of Einar Sokkason.
CHAPTER 3: AMLETH, LUTHER AND THE LAST PRIEST: THE REFORMATION IN SCANDINAVIA
Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Books I–IX, Volume I, English Text, Volume II, Commentary, translated and annotated by Hilda Ellis Davidson and Peter Fisher (2002).
Edda, by Snorri Sturluson, translated and edited by Anthony Faulkes (1987).
Hamlet (The Arden Shakespeare), by William Shakespeare, edited by Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor (2016, 2nd revised edition).
The Essential Anatomy of Melancholy, by Robert Burton (2002). A well-abridged edition, from Dover Books.
CHAPTER 4: THE KING OF THE PAST: FREDERIK VII OF DENMARK
The Poetic Edda, translated by Carolyne Larrington (2014). Includes a translation of The Sayings of the High One.
Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard’s Histories, edited by Bernhard Walter Scholz (1970).
The Saga of Grettir the Strong, translated by George Hight, edited and introduced by Peter Foote (1970).
Defying Napoleon: How Britain Bombarded Copenhagen and Seized the Danish Fleet in 1807, by Thomas Munch-Petersen (2007).
Terje Vigen, by Henrik Ibsen, translated by John Northam. Online at http://ibsen.nb.no/id/27224.0. This is the best Ibsen website there is, most of it available in both English and Norwegian. John Northam’s translations of all of Ibsen’s major poems are included.
The English Dane, From King of Iceland to Tasmanian Convict: A Story of Empire and Adventure, by Sarah Bakewell (2006). On Jørgen Jørgensen’s remarkable life.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne.
Sundes verden – De Beste (2 CDs) by Øystein Sunde. His greatest hits.
CHAPTER 5: THE VASA SHIP: SWEDEN’S AGE OF GREATNESS
Descartes: The Life of René Descartes and Its Place in His Times, by A.C. Grayling (2006). Includes a chapter on Descartes’ fatal sojourn in Sweden.
Queen Christina (DVD of 1933 film), directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.
Finding Atlantis: A True Story of Genius, Madness, and an Extraordinary Quest for a Lost World, by David King (2006). A full and sympathetic account of Rudbeck’s life and career.
The Vasa: The Royal Ship, by Lars-Ake Kvarning and Bengt Ohrelius, translated by Joan Tate (1998). A comprehensive account in English of the sinking, re-discovery, recovery and restoration of the great ship.
CHAPTER 6: ABDUCTIONS: THE WAR BETWEEN THE DANES AND ALGERIANS
Drakenberg, verdens eldste bloffmaker, by Geir Hasle (2004). In Norwegian.
1001 Natt. Den ukjente historien om to Norske slaver i Alger, by Vetle Lid Larssen (2013). A journalist traces the fate of two individual Norwegians enslaved in Algiers. In Norwegian.
The Pirate Queen: In search of Grace O’Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea, by Barbara Sjoholm (2004). Includes a chapter on the abductions from Reykjavik and the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).
CHAPTER 7: THE SHORT SWEET RULE OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH STRUENSEE
Festen (DVD of 2008 film), directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Featuring Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen and Thomas Bo Larsen.
A Royal Affair (DVD of 2012 film), directed by Nikolaj Arsel. Featuring Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen and Mikkel Boe Folsgaard.
The Visit of the Royal Physician, by P. O. Enkvist, translated by Tiina Nunnally (2003). A historical novel about the Struensee years.
Hvem skjøt William Nygaard? by Odd Isungset (2010). In Norwegian. A fascinating account of the still-unsolved case of the attempted murder of Rushdie’s Norwegian publisher William Nygaard (2010).
CHAPTER 8: TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD: SØREN KIERKEGAARD AND OLAV FISKVIK
Fear and Trembling, by Søren Kierkegaard, translated by Alastair Hannay (2005). Penguin Classics edition.
Papers and Journals: A Selection, by Søren Kierkegaard, translated and edited by Alistair Hannay (1996). This is an excellent place to start reading Kierkegaard.
Encounters with Kierkegaard: A Life as Seen by His Contemporaries, collected, edited and annotated by Bruce H. Kirmsee, translated by Kirmsee and Virginia R. Laursen (1996). A fascinating collection of reminiscences.
Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter [Søren Kierkegaard’s Writings]. Online at http://sks.dk/forside/indhold.asp. A website, in Danish, containing all of Kierkegaard’s published and unpublished writings, journals and papers, and letters.
Mordernes forventninger, by Erling Sandmo (1998). An essay in Norwegian on the history of changing attitudes towards insanity and murder.
On Overgrown Paths, by Knut Hamsun. Translated by by Sverre Lyngstad (2003). Written at the age of 87, this is Hamsun’s own account of his detention, psychiatric examination and trial after the Second World War.
CHAPTER 9: THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE EXPLORER
The Expedition: Solving the Mystery of a Polar Tragedy, by Bea Uusma (2015). A complete account of the Andreé expedition.
Flight of the Eagle (feature film, in Swedish), directed by Jan Troell (1982). With Max von Sydow, Sverre Anker Ousdal and Göran Stangertz. Available on YouTube, without subtitles, but worth seeing for the beautiful imagery.
En frusen dröm (DVD of 1997 film), directed by Jan Troell. This documentary tells the story of the Andrée expedition, with English subtitles.
Strindberg’s Star, by Jan Wallentin (2012). A Dan-Brown style novel with characters based on members of the Andrée expedition.
INTERLUDE: IBSEN’S GHOSTS
A History of Modern Norway: 1814–1972, by T. K. Derry (1973).
The Three Ibsens: Memories of Henrik Ibsen, Suzannah Ibsen and Sigurd Ibsen, by Bergljot Ibsen (1951). A memoir written by Sigurd Ibsen’s wife.
CHAPTER 10: THE EMIGRANTS
Hamsun Samleboks (DVD box, 2009). Five filmed versions of Hamsun’s novels, including Hunger; the early silent The Growth of the Soil from 1921; and Henning Carlsen’s Pan from 1995. The box also includes Jan Troell’s fine 1996 biopic Hamsun, starring Max von Sydow and Ghita Nørby. All subtitled in English.
Norwegian Migration to America 1825–1860, by Theodore C. Blegen (1969).
Norwegians and Swedes in the United States: Friends and Neighbors, edited by Philip J. Anderson and Dag Blanck (2011).
Norse Discoveries and Explorations in America, 982–1362: Leif Erikson to the Kensington Stone, by Hjalmar R. Holand (1968).
CHAPTER 11: WORLD WAR II: THE SCANDINAVIAN EXPERIENCE
Krysseren Blücher, by Alf R. Jacobsen (2010). In Norwegian. A detailed account of the sinking of the Blücher.
Niels Bohr’s Times: In Physics, Philosophy and Polity, by Abraham Pais (1994).
Ibsen on Screen (DVD box, 2006). Three Norwegian/Swedish film versions of Ibsen’s plays, including Victor Sjöström’s Terje Vigen from 1917, all with English subtitles.
Den rettspsykiatriske erklæringen om Knut Hamsun (The psychiatric report on Knut Hamsun). This is the full text of the examination of Knut Hamsun undertaken in 1945/46 by two psychiatrists, Gabriel Langfeldt and Ørnulv Ødegaard, at the request of the authorities, to determine whether or not Hamsun was fit to stand trial for his wartime newspaper articles and radio broadcasts urging Norwegians not to resist the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940. Published in 1976. A fascinating document. In Norwegian.
CHAPTER 12: THE POWER OF SCANDINAVIAN WOMEN
The Poet and the Spae-Wife: An Attempt to Reconstruct al-Ghazal’s Embassy to the Vikings, translated and edited by W.E.D. Allen (1960). A translation and discussion of this story. Also online as PDF file: http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Poet%20and%20Spae-wife.pdf
Njals Saga, translated and edited by Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Palsson (1970).
Four Major Plays: Doll’s House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder, by Henrik Ibsen, translated by James McFarlane and Jens Arup (2008).
A Doll’s House (DVD of 1973 film), directed by Patrick Garland and starring Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins and Ralph Richardson.
An Ideal Husband (DVD of 1999 film), based on play by Oscar Wilde, directed and screenplay by Oliver Parker. Featuring Rupert Everett, Minnie Driver, Jeremy Northam and Cate Blanchett.
Casablanca (DVD of 1942 film), directed by Michael Curtiz. Featuring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman’s character in the film, Ilsa Lund, is supposed to be a Norwegian.
Ingmar Bergman. The Masterpiece Collection (DVD box). Ten films spanning Bergman’s career from Summer with Monika (1953) to Fanny and Alexander (1982) In Swedish, with English subtitles.
CHAPTER 13: DAGNY JUEL AND THE INVENTION OF MELANCHOLY
Melankoliska Rum, by Karin Johannisson (2009). A well-written and thoughtful study of changing ideas of what melancholy is, and how – and whether – it should be treated. In Swedish.
Suicide and Scandinavia, by Herbert Hendin (1965). Addressing a Republican National Committee breakfast in Chicago in the summer of 1960 President Eisenhower informed his audience that Sweden ‘has a tremendous record for socialistic operation following a socialistic philosophy. And the record shows that their rate of suicide has gone up almost unbelievably and I think they were almost the lowest nation in the world before that. Now they have more than twice our rate.’ As statistics of the time show, Swedes came no higher than fifth in that melancholy listing. Eisenhower apologized in due course, but by then the damage had been done and within five years Hendin’s influential book-length study had appeared, to compound what was already an ancient stereotype.
Edvard Munch (DVD of 1974 film). Peter Watkins’s intricate biopic, almost three hours long and acted by a cast of Norwegian amateurs. English subtitles.
CHAPTER 14: MALEXANDER
Smärtpunkten, by Elisabeth Åsbrink (2009). A full account of events leading up to the tragedy by a Swedish journalist. In Swedish.
Chockvågor, by Tony Olsson (2011). Olsson’s autobiography. In Swedish. The proceeds from Olsson’s book go to the Malexander victims’ families.
Repetitioner: en film om brott och straff (DVD of 2005 film), by Michal Leszczylowski and Gunnar Källström with Lars Norén (2005). In Swedish, with English subtitles.
CHAPTER 15: OSLO 2016
Hjertet mot steinen, by Adrian Pracon (2012). Pracon came face to face with Breivik during Breivik’s rampage on Utøya. This is a survivor’s account of the attack. In Norwegian.
One of Us: The Story of a Massacre and Its Aftermath, by Åsne Seirstad (2016). A full account of the events of 22 July 2011.
Offret & Gärningsmannen: en essä om mordet på Olof Palme, by Hans Hederberg (2010). In Swedish. An essay on the murder of Olof Palme with a revealing biographical study of Christer Pettersson.
Bjørge Lillelien’s victory rant: You can hear this in all its glory on several Youtube sites.