A Spell for Old Bones

by Eric Linklater

"When the giants fell, old bones revived" - there is the rubric for Eric Linklater's new story, first published in 1949. There may be no historical foundation for his tale of a fantastic war, in the First century A.D., between the giant Furbister and the abominable Od McGammon, his neighbour in the south-west of Scotland; but their quarrel - which provides a background to the engaging love-story of the willful poet Albyn and the delightful Princess Liss - has a real enough interest and no small significance in our equally strange world of today. Would love cure all our troubles? Love indeed has a power that is almost infinite. But man (especially if he is a willful poet) has the habit of dissatisfaction, an eye that looks critically at love itself. And here, in this tale of some very modern primitives, love makes the running but fails to win the race. A new departure for Linklater? Well, he often makes new departures, and here, though he is serious at bottom, his seriousness is nicely garnished with wit, and sometimes at the mercy of humour. The fascination of the story carries its outlandishness as lightly as a feather.

Genres: Fantasy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Eric Robert Russell Linklater was a Welsh-born Scottish writer of novels and short stories, military history, and travel books. For The Wind on the Moon, a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association for the year's best children's book by a British subject.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting sort, depicting sometimes seriously, sometimes farcically, the life of Albyn the poet, his finding of a wife, and the struggles faced when living in a country ruled by a Giant, casting hateful glances at the Giant ruling across the boarder.

It's an entertaining story, well written, and one can ignore the anachronisms of certain situations and place names, given the overall tone of the work.

[Jumpmanlives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to audio, narrated by John Lee (also did Pillars of the earth) published by Bolinda/Audible. Loved the language, great characterisation. Albyn gave me many laugh aloud moments explaining his lazy, indulgent acts, as he says "because, I'm a poet". 'A Spell for old bones' definitely will delight you with the magic of a engrossing humourous narrative.