I read this book several years ago. If I had a top ten list, it would be on it. This is a fictionalized account of the life of Freydis, daughter of Erik the Red. The same Erik who settled Greenland because he had been kicked out of Iceland. His son Leif discovered Newfoundland.
The historical record has very little to say about Freydis, but what it does say is startling. Apparently, Freydis borrows Leif's boat and leads an expedition to Newfoundland. While there she incites a massacre of her fellow Greenlanders.
Every book, fiction or non-fiction, that I've read about Freydis portrays her as a bent, sick, perverted person. Joan Clark manages to make her human. She attributes motives to Freydis that the rest of us can understand. A proud woman with a lust for power, she sees her social position slipping away due to the decisions of the men in her family. The regrettable actions she takes in order to retain what she considers her birthright change her life forever.
The first two thirds of the book tell Freydis' story. Then comes a section that to me doesn't fit. It seems unnecessary. It ties up the loose ends of the people who remain in Newfoundland. To me the real story is about Freydis, the decisions she made and the consequences she bore. ( )