It is now just thirty years since I first began to read the “Saga of Grettir the Strong” in Icelandic. At that time I had only a Danish grammar of Icelandic and an Icelandic-Danish dictionary, and I did not know a word of Danish. So I had to learn Danish in order to learn Icelandic. It was laborious work making out the Saga, and every line when I began took me some time to understand. Moreover, I had not much time at my disposal, for then I was a master in a school. Now, after I had worked a little way into the Saga, I became intensely interested in it myself, and it struck me that my boys whom I taught might like to hear about Grettir. So I tried every day to translate, after school hours, a chapter, hardly ever more at first, and sometimes not even as much as that. Then, when on half-holidays I proposed a walk to some of my scholars, they were keen to hear the story of Grettir. Well, Grettir went on for some months in this way, a fresh instalment of the tale coming every half-holiday, and it was really wonderful how interested and delighted the boys were with the story. Nor was I less so; the labour of translation which was so great at first became rapidly lighter, and I was as much interested in the adventures of the hero as were the boys. The other day I met an old pupil of mine, and almost the first thing he said to me was: “Oh! do you remember Grettir? Thirty years ago! Fancy! I am a married man and have boys of my own, and I have often tried to tell them the story which made such an impression on me, but I cannot remember all the incidents nor their order. I do wish you would write it as a story for boys. I should like to read it myself again, and my boys would love it.” “Very well,” I said, “I will do so.” Now my boy readers must understand that I have told them the story in my own words and in my own way. I went to Iceland in 1861, and went over nearly every bit of the ground made famous by the adventures of Grettir. Consequently, I am able to help out and illustrate the tale by what I actually saw. In the original book there is a great deal more than I have attempted to retell, but much has to do with the ancestors of Grettir, and there are other incidents introduced of no great importance and very confusing to the memory. So I have taken the leading points in the story, and given them...FROM THE BOOKS.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was a late Victorian novelist, antiquarian and eclectic scholar. He is remembered particularly as a writer of famous hymns, notably, ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’. He was a prolific author of diverse subjects, producing over 200 books by the time of his death at the age of ninety. Among his most enduring works are his seminal ghost stories, revealing the author’s interest in occult studies. This comprehensive eBook presents Baring-Gould’s collected works, with numerous illustrations, many rare texts digitised for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Baring-Gould’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and major texts * 26 novels, with individual contents tables * Features many rare novels appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Includes the original illustrations accompanying the works * Excellent formatting of the texts * Wide selection of Baring-Gould’s non-fiction and songs * Features a bonus biography – discover Baring-Gould’s intriguing life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Novels Through Flood and Flame (1868) Mehalah (1880) John Herring (1883) Court Royal (1886) Red Spider (1887) Eve (1888) The Pennycomequicks (1889) Grettir the Outlaw (1889) Arminell (1890) Urith (1891) In the Roar of the Sea (1892) Through all the Changing Scenes of Life (1892) Cheap Jack Zita (1893) Kitty Alone (1894) The Icelander’s Sword (1894) Noémi (1895) The Broom Squire (1890) Perpetua (1897) Guavas the Tinner (1897) Bladys of the Stewponey (1897) Domitia (1898) Pabo the Priest (1899) Winefred (1900) The Frobishers (1901) Miss Quillet (1902) In Dewisland (1904) The Shorter Fiction Jacquetta and Other Stories (1890) In a Quiet Village (1900) A Book of Ghosts (1904) The Songs Songs of the West (1890) Selected Hymns The Non-Fiction The Book of Were Wolves (1865) Post-Mediaeval Preachers (1865) Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (1866) The Lives of the Saints (Volumes I-III) (1872) Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events (1874) The Vicar of Morwenstow (1876) Historic Oddities and Strange Events (1889) Old Country Life (1890) In Troubadour Land (1891) Strange Survivals (1892) An Old English Home and its Dependencies (1898) A Book of Dartmoor (1900) Brittany (1902) A Book of North Wales (1903) A Book of the Riviera (1905) A Book of the Cevennes (1907) A Book of the Pyrenees (1907) Devonshire Characters and Strange Events (1908) Cornish Characters and Strange Events (1909) A History of Sarawak under its Two White Rajahs (1909) Cliff Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe (1911) A Book of Folk Lore (1913) The Biography The Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould’s Memoirs (1923) by Stewart M. Ellis Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

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