Styrbiorn the Strong

E. R. Eddison’s classic saga novel now in paperback—includes for the first time Eddison’s remarkable letter of introduction and his unabridged closing note

Styrbiorn the Strong tells the grand tale of Styrbiorn Olafsson, heir to the Swedish throne and known both for his impressive size and strength and his unruly, quarrelsome nature. Denied his birthright and exiled from Sweden, Styrbiorn becomes the leader of the Jomsvikings and sets out to reclaim the Swedish throne in the epic Battle of Fýrisvellir. A rediscovered classic, Styrbiorn the Strong is a tale reminiscent of the Old Norse sagas, a historical novel from one of the twentieth century’s most influential masters of fantasy.

Eric Rücker Eddison (1882–1945) so loved the William Morris and George Webbe Dasent translations of the Old Norse sagas that he taught himself to read Old Icelandic. He studied classics at Trinity College and went on to write five novels—including the fantasy classic, The Worm Ouroboros.

Paul Edmund Thomas is a literary scholar who has focused most of his work on E. R. Eddison and J. R. R. Tolkien.