Praise for

THE SEALWOMAN’S GIFT

‘A remarkable feat of imagination: from the first, it leaps from the page. Its richly vivid sense of time and place recall Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist and the novels of Cecilia Ekback, and there is a particular pleasure in its highly original choice of subject matter. Magnusson writes with an infectious verve, so that I found myself absolutely persuaded by Ásta’s extraordinary journey from the harsh Icelandic coast to the strange and splendid palaces of Algiers. Nor is this a novel afraid to inform: at each reading I came away feeling enriched by Magnusson’s use of Icelandic myth, and her absolute authority over her subject. It’s enormous fun to read – I enjoyed and admired it in equal measure’

Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent

‘Icelandic history has been brought to extraordinary life. I was swept up in the story and the vivid plight of people taken away from everything they knew and understood. Transported to a time long ago, I was completely enthralled by Sally Magnusson’s skilful storytelling. An accomplished and intelligent novel – highly recommended’

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, author of Why Did You Lie?

‘An extraordinarily immersive read that emphasises the power of stories, examining themes of motherhood, identity, exile and freedom. Through her deft storytelling, Magnusson takes us on a journey that not only crosses continents, but encompasses tragedy and rich sensuality’  

Guardian

‘Sally Magnusson has taken a little-known historical event – the Barbary corsair raid on Iceland in 1627 – and produced a moving story of suffering and redemption. Her tale of Ásta, the Reverend’s wife, indomitable survivor of tragedy and heartbreak, is vivid and compelling’

Adam Nichols, co-editor and translator of
The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson

‘An evocative, striking new novel . . . which brings an Icelandic historical tragedy, and in particular an Icelandic woman Ásta Egilsson, back to pulsing life’

Times 

‘Richly imagined and energetically told, The Sealwoman's Gift is a powerful tale of loss and endurance’

Sunday Times

‘Magnusson has certainly done her research, and she has found in the silences of the historical record the space for a novel that moves gracefully between what is known and what must be imagined . . . Much of the pleasure of reading The Sealwoman's Gift is that of a good yarn well told’

TLS

‘Fascinating . . . a really, really good read’

BBC Radio 2 Book Club

‘Beautifully told’

Radio Times

‘Sally Magnusson writes compellingly of the pyschological and physical shocks of being uprooted. Impeccably researched, this is a poetic retelling of Icelandic history’

Daily Mail

‘A rich, captivating work’

Mail on Sunday

‘Engrossing, atmospheric’

Sunday Express

‘Compelling’

Good Housekeeping

‘A lyrical tale full of the Icelandic stories that Ásta tells her children and her kidnappers’

Stylist

‘Sally Magnusson's wonderfully accomplished first novel is an enthralling mixture of recovered history and the imagining of lost lives. It's a delightful piece of storytelling which is also a story about telling stories . . . In short, this is the best sort of historical novel’

Scotsman

‘An impressive debut from Magnusson who seems to have inherited her Icelandic ancestors' talent for beguiling storytelling’

The Herald

‘Captivating’

Scots Magazine

‘Heart-wrenching’

Sunday Post

‘There's something so wonderful about being wholly drawn into a richly imagined historical novel that both illuminates a somewhat forgotten or not-widely-known period of history and gives voice to people who are only glancingly referred to in the history books . . . this novel brilliantly engages with man of the heart-rending conflicts a woman in Ásta's position must have faced while also powerfully illuminating the cultural importance of storytelling and the complicated dynamics of love’

Lonesome Reader

‘Magnusson's prose never falters . . . What an exceptional and moving fiction debut this is’

Elle Thinks

‘An engrossing and accomplished novel

The Last Word Book Review

THE SEALWOMAN’S GIFT

SALLY MAGNUSSON

Two Roads logo
www.tworoadsbooks.com

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Two Roads

An imprint of John Murray Press

An Hachette UK company

Copyright © Sally Magnusson 2018

The right of Sally Magnusson to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 473 63897 6

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.hodder.co.uk

To Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

A Note About Icelandic

For the ease of non-Icelandic readers, the letter ð (pronounced as a voiced th) is transcribed throughout as an English d, the letter þ as th and the dipthong æ as ae. Accents alter the way vowels are pronounced. For instance, á is the sound in owl, é as in yet, í and ý as in seen, ó as in note, ú as in soon, ö as in the French fleur, ae as in life, and ei and ey as in tray.

Some Icelandic Words

Badstofa [bath-stova] | Communal living and sleeping room
Mín kaera [meen kyra] | My loved one (to a female)
Minn kaeri [minn kyri] | My loved one (to a male)
Kvöldvaka [kveuld-vaka] | Storytelling time, literally ‘evening awakening’
Skyr [skeer] | Dairy product similar to yoghurt
Vestmannaeyjar [Vestmanna-ayyar] | Westman Islands
Jökull [yeu-kutl] | Glacier
Eyjafjallajökull [Ayya-fjatla-yeu-kutl] | Literally ‘Islands’-Mountains’-Glacier’

Characters (in alphabetical order)

Icelanders

A fisherman

Agnes

Mother of Magnús Birgisson

Anna Jasparsdóttir [Anna Yaspars-dohtir]

Newly married Westman islander

Ásta Thorsteinsdóttir [Owsta Thorstayns-dohtir]

Wife of Rev Ólafur Egilsson

Ásta and Ólafur’s children:

Helga

Egill [Ay-yitl]

Marta

Jón [Yone]

Einar Loftsson [Aynar Lopt-son]

Westman islander

Erlendur Runólfsson [Erlendur Runohlfs-son]

Slain Westman islander

Eyjólfur Sölmundarson [Ay-yohlvur Seul-moondar-son]

Husband of Gudrídur Símonardóttir

Finnur Gudmundsson [Finnur Gveuth-munds-son]

Husband of Helga Ólafsdóttir

Gísli Oddsson [Geesli Odds-son]

Bishop of southern Iceland, based at Skálholt

Gísli Thorvardsson [Geesli Thorvarth-son]

Priest married to Thorgerdur Ólafsdóttir

Gudbrandur Thorláksson [Gveuth-brandur Thor-lowks-son]

Northern bishop who printed the Bible in Icelandic

Gudrídur Símonardóttir [Gveuth-reethur Seemonar-dohtir]

Wife of Eyjólfur Sölmundarson

Gunnhildur Hermannsdóttir [Goon-hildur Hermanns-dohtir]

Captured from Djúpivogur in the east of Iceland

Halldóra Jónsdóttir [Hatl-dohra Yones-dohtir]

Elderly Icelandic woman

Hallgrímur Pétursson [Hatl-greemur Pi-eturs-son]

Trainee priest

Inga

Serving girl at Ofanleiti

Jaspar Kristjánsson [Yaspar Krist-jowns-son]

Danish father of Anna Jasparsdóttir

Jón Jónsson [Yone Yone-son]

Son of Margrét and Jón (later the Westman)

Jón Oddsson [Yone Odds-son]

First husband of Anna Jasparsdóttir

Jón Thorsteinsson [Yone Thor-stayn-son]

Island priest at Kirkjubaer

Kristín

Friend of Ásta

Magnús Birgisson [Magnoos Birgis-son]

Westman islander, friend of Egill

Margrét Jónsdóttir [Margri-et Yones-dohtir]

Wife of Rev Jón Thorsteinsson

Oddrún Pálsdóttir [Oddroon Powls-dohtir]

A sealwoman (possibly)

Ólafur Egilsson [Ohlavur Ay-yils-son]

Island priest, husband of Ásta Thorsteinsdóttir

Thorgerdur Ólafsdóttir [Thor-gerthur Ohlafs-dohtir]

Ólafur’s daughter by his first wife

Thorlákur Skúlason [Thor-lowkur Skoola-son]

Succeeded Gudbrandur as Bishop of Hólar

Thorsteinn Einarson [Thor-stayn Aynar-son]

Ásta’s father, priest at Mosfell in south Iceland

Corsairs

Murat Reis

Corsair admiral, born Jan Janszoon

Sa’id Suleiman

Ottoman janissary

Wahid Fleming

Dutch-born corsair captain

Citizens of Algiers

Ali Pitterling Cilleby

Slave-owner and member of the ruling council

Alimah

Cilleby’s first wife

Flower

Servant in Cilleby’s house

Husna

Cilleby’s second wife

Jón Ásbjarnarson

Former Icelandic slave in the civil service

Jus Hamet

Second husband of Anna Jasparsdóttir

Zafir Chitour

Servant to Captain Fleming

Diplomat

Paul de Willem

Agent of King Christian

Wilhelm Kifft

Denmark’s emissary to Algiers

Monarchs

Christian IV

King of Denmark, Norway and Iceland

Murad IV

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Saga folk

Egill Skallagrímsson [Ay-yitl Skatla-greems-son]

Warrior poet and protagonist of Egil’s saga

Gudrún Ósvífursdóttir [Gveuth-roon Ohs-vivurs-dohtir]

Beautiful protagonist of Laxdaela saga

Kjartan Ólafsson [Kyartan Ohlafs-son]

Disappointed suitor of Gudrún

Bolli Thorleiksson [Botli Thorlayks-son]

Gudrún’s third husband, Kjartan’s foster-brother

Bolli Bollason [Botli Botla-son]

Son of Gudrún and Bolli