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Black Fox of Lorne
Vikings & Scotland in the 10th century.
"Now we shall go a-Viking," Harald Redbeard announced, and so it was that Jan and Brus, Harald's twin sons, found themselves on the dragon-prowed Raven of the Wind, its striped sails set for England. But storms, ancient enemies of the sea-faring Norsemen, swooped down, and in their wake left disaster. Their mother's ship was lost and the Raven was wrecked on the Isle of Skye, stronghold of the giant Scot, Began Mor.
Then Jan and Brus met Gavin, the Black Fox of Lorne, and began the long journey that was to take them across half the wild land of Scotland, in search of their mother and their father's murderer. The story is like a panorama of 10th century Scotland. Loyal clansmen at war with marauding Picts and invading Englishmen; staunch crofters and kindly shepherds; arrogant, powerful lairds - and among them the young Norsemen, practicing the clever deception that saved their lives. For no one in this strange land knew that there were two boys, identical in appearance, and by the time the secret was revealed, it had served its purpose, and the long quest was ended.
"Now we shall go a-Viking," Harald Redbeard announced, and so it was that Jan and Brus, Harald's twin sons, found themselves on the dragon-prowed Raven of the Wind, its striped sails set for England. But storms, ancient enemies of the sea-faring Norsemen, swooped down, and in their wake left disaster. Their mother's ship was lost and the Raven was wrecked on the Isle of Skye, stronghold of the giant Scot, Began Mor.
Then Jan and Brus met Gavin, the Black Fox of Lorne, and began the long journey that was to take them across half the wild land of Scotland, in search of their mother and their father's murderer. The story is like a panorama of 10th century Scotland. Loyal clansmen at war with marauding Picts and invading Englishmen; staunch crofters and kindly shepherds; arrogant, powerful lairds - and among them the young Norsemen, practicing the clever deception that saved their lives. For no one in this strange land knew that there were two boys, identical in appearance, and by the time the secret was revealed, it had served its purpose, and the long quest was ended.
191 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
11 people are currently reading
719 people want to read
About the author
Marguerite de Angeli
77 books99 followersMarguerite de Angeli was an American writer and illustrator of children's books including the 1950 Newbery Award winning book The Door in the Wall. She wrote and illustrated twenty-eight of her own books, and illustrated more than three dozen books and numerous magazine stories and articles for other authors.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 10, 2008
Why are all these wonderful old historical novels out of print??
Read
June 2, 2018I believe I've read this book, and I remember liking it, but I can't remember. XD I do need to reread some Marguerite de Angeli. ;)
May 18, 2016
I thought it was a pretty good book. The only historical fallacy I found was that Neptune was not a sea god of the Norse people; he was Roman. Oh, well.
Anyway, this book is about a group of Norse Vikings who wished to settle with some Danish cousins somewhere in England in the mid-900's AD. They get caught in a bad storm in the North Sea, and they get shipwrecked. The story is mostly of two bothers, twins, one of which gets captured by a bad guy.
The twins keep switching who is the captured one, and they have many adventures over western Scotland trying to find their mother and avenge the murder of their father. And they learn about Christianity in the meantime.
But the book is well-written, and it holds interest. Nothing too special though.
Anyway, this book is about a group of Norse Vikings who wished to settle with some Danish cousins somewhere in England in the mid-900's AD. They get caught in a bad storm in the North Sea, and they get shipwrecked. The story is mostly of two bothers, twins, one of which gets captured by a bad guy.
The twins keep switching who is the captured one, and they have many adventures over western Scotland trying to find their mother and avenge the murder of their father. And they learn about Christianity in the meantime.
But the book is well-written, and it holds interest. Nothing too special though.
May 30, 2014
Oof, not a good book in my opinion. Must have been a slow year for the Newbery committee.
September 16, 2025
I love a good living history book, and this one does a nice job of portraying a way that Nordic peoples were assimilated into Scotland in the 10th century - all in a well-crafted and exciting story that's not too long or too short. The family from 6 years old to Dad were enthralled.
Cheers to Hillside Education for republishing this gem.
Cheers to Hillside Education for republishing this gem.
November 1, 2018
Newbery Honors 1957
I've seldom enjoyed an adventure story as much as I did this one. It is perfect for 10-year-old boisterous and spirited boys.
It is the early 11th century in Norway, and Harald Redbeard takes his family, wife, twin sons Jan and Brus, along with the rest of his household a-Viking, to settle among friendly Danes. A storm scatters the boats separating the family, and Harald and his sons are shipwrecked on the shore of the Isle of Skye, far away from their intended destination.
De Angeli weaves an enjoyable and skilled story where the twins encounter physical hardship, scheming, treachery, and battles. There is hunting and fishing, exploring of dark castle passages. They also meet a Christian culture they are unfamiliar with. With the heady air of adventure also come lessons in virtue. The twins are tested in honor, fortitude, humility, patience, heeding your elders, and above all hope.
De Angeli doesn't sugar coat the hardships and tragedies of the time, yet she is never graphic, cruel, or coarse. I really like her sophisticated writing, beautiful descriptions of the landscape, and poetry interspersed within the text. You will not find any misplaced dumbing-down. Marguerite de Angeli was also a gifted illustrator. Her charcoal drawings are just lovely. And as behooves any good adventure story, there are wonderful maps!
I've seldom enjoyed an adventure story as much as I did this one. It is perfect for 10-year-old boisterous and spirited boys.
It is the early 11th century in Norway, and Harald Redbeard takes his family, wife, twin sons Jan and Brus, along with the rest of his household a-Viking, to settle among friendly Danes. A storm scatters the boats separating the family, and Harald and his sons are shipwrecked on the shore of the Isle of Skye, far away from their intended destination.
De Angeli weaves an enjoyable and skilled story where the twins encounter physical hardship, scheming, treachery, and battles. There is hunting and fishing, exploring of dark castle passages. They also meet a Christian culture they are unfamiliar with. With the heady air of adventure also come lessons in virtue. The twins are tested in honor, fortitude, humility, patience, heeding your elders, and above all hope.
De Angeli doesn't sugar coat the hardships and tragedies of the time, yet she is never graphic, cruel, or coarse. I really like her sophisticated writing, beautiful descriptions of the landscape, and poetry interspersed within the text. You will not find any misplaced dumbing-down. Marguerite de Angeli was also a gifted illustrator. Her charcoal drawings are just lovely. And as behooves any good adventure story, there are wonderful maps!
July 8, 2022
Everything Marguerite De Angeli does is just so beautiful. I loved the Christian themes in this one. I sometimes found it a bit hard to follow when the scene would change multiple times mid chapter but that is probably on me. Am considering this as supplement to my middle grade son’s Middle Ages studies this year.
June 12, 2025
The book was lovely but some parts were stretching and hard for us to follow along. But what a wonderful message. My kids were very excited that both Brus, Jan, and his mother left their Norse Gods for Christianity.
October 5, 2023
An excellent read-aloud for my two older kids (12 year old boy and 14 year old girl).
August 16, 2022
Reviewing my bookshelves, I rediscovered this novel which I last read in 1962 0r 1963 when I was 10 or 11, and I've enjoyed re-reading it.
To start with, it's a splendid adventure story such as a boy, or a girl, would enjoy. Twin 10th-century Norse lads, Brus and Jan, are emigrating with their family and household in three ships to a relative in north-east England. The ships are separated in a storm and Brus, Jan, and their father Harald are wrecked on Skye. Jan, his father and the surviving men are commanded by Began Mor, the local chieftain, to come to dine with him and join the feast he is giving to celebrate the pledging of his daughter Nineag to Gavin Dhu of Lorne. Brus, however, stays outside Began Mor’s castle as Harald has told him and Jan to remain apart as long as they can as it may advantage them at some time, and if one comes to grief, the other at least may survive. During the feast, a fight breaks out between Birger Harelip, one of Harald's men, and a retainer of Began Mor's. This is the excuse Began Mor needs to begin a slaughter of his guests who are then thrown onto the rocks outside the castle.
Brus, however, finds that his father is still alive and takes him to a place of safety. Returning from the burn with water, he finds his father murdered and the family’s talisman jewel stolen.
From this point, the boys, liaising through a system of secret bird calls, regularly change places, serving Gavin Dhu, known as the Black Fox for his cunning, his charm and his cruelty, to whom Jan - soon known as Ee-an or Ian, is gifted by Began Mor. They are determined to identify and take revenge on their father's murderer, and recover the stolen talisman. Gavin Dhu comes to admire their qualities and soon expects them to groom his horse and attend him as his equerry.
The story develops on one level as one in which Gavin Dhu and Began Mor are calculating how to acquire more power and lands for themselves by pledging allegiance to both Malcolm, King of the Scots, and to Ethelred, King of the English. Jan and Brus, being able to change places - one to act as their eyes and ears in Gavin Dhu's castle, the other free to pick up information in the surrounding countryside and to run errands as need be - are able eventually to join together in spoiling Gavin Dhu's ambitions.
On another level, de Angeli has - and this book is written in the 1950s by a woman brought up in a Presbyterian family in the Eastern USA - a proselytising agenda. Jan and Brus are Norse pagans, but they have entered Christian Scotland. It is not long, therefore, before they encounter Christian shepherds and servants who tell them gospel stories. Moreover, Gavin Dhu and his followers are practising Christians. Jan in particular is taken by this new religion, and since he spends more time than Brus in Gavin's castle, he is soon taking it to heart. His mentors are a lad his own age, Alan Dugal, held hostage by Gavin (who has also killed his father) in order to keep clan Dugal submissive, and Murdoch Gow, the castle's armourer. Murdoch has no love for Gavin Dhu, but as a Christian he knows a moment will come when the Black Fox will get his come-uppance. His watchword is 'I bide', one which Jan adopts, holding back from opportunities to kill Gavin. Indeed, Brus also holds back. Both boys are, in truth, restrained by their youth and never having killed anyone in cold blood, but Murdoch reinforces this natural disinclination from a moral point of view, successfully challenging their Norse habits of thought. ‘I bide’: a useful motto.
Gavin Dhu's wickedness is given further weight by his clearly sham Christianity. It is the Christianity of convenience, and it stands in stark contrast to the plainness of Murdoch Gow's and the several crofters and shepherds with whom the boys come into contact and by whom they are offered simple but sincere kindness and hospitality.
I was conscious as an adult of what de Angeli was up to, but as a child I don’t remember finding it oppressive, and anyway, it’s well handled and forms a natural enough part of the narrative in a fictional universe where simple people hold fast to sentiments that make sense to them. I wasn’t bothered by it, as I thought I might have been.
Another element of de Angeli’s storytelling is the excitement generated by the ways the boys have to contrive to carry out their plans through daring, courage, physical stamina, determination and quick thinking. They learn to manage their natural impulses to act peremptorily, especially Brus whose character is that of a lad specially skilled in the use of weapons and the art of tending animals. Jan, though adept in those arts is no enthusiastic master of them, preferring song-making, carving runes, and learning the law. It is no wonder he is more open to the Christian story than Brus. Together, however, they constitute a powerful unit, one that Murdoch Gow recognizes.
Finally, all this is set in a well-constructed Scottish landscape. De Angeli may or may not have visited Scotland, but she seems to know enough to recreate the castle, clan and political world of a 10th century Scotland in a way that I found convincing.
A good moral story for children. Jan and Brus are pretty good role models. The fictional world they dwell in may feel like an old-fashioned moral universe today, but it’s hardly one to be dismissed simply for being almost seventy year old.
To start with, it's a splendid adventure story such as a boy, or a girl, would enjoy. Twin 10th-century Norse lads, Brus and Jan, are emigrating with their family and household in three ships to a relative in north-east England. The ships are separated in a storm and Brus, Jan, and their father Harald are wrecked on Skye. Jan, his father and the surviving men are commanded by Began Mor, the local chieftain, to come to dine with him and join the feast he is giving to celebrate the pledging of his daughter Nineag to Gavin Dhu of Lorne. Brus, however, stays outside Began Mor’s castle as Harald has told him and Jan to remain apart as long as they can as it may advantage them at some time, and if one comes to grief, the other at least may survive. During the feast, a fight breaks out between Birger Harelip, one of Harald's men, and a retainer of Began Mor's. This is the excuse Began Mor needs to begin a slaughter of his guests who are then thrown onto the rocks outside the castle.
Brus, however, finds that his father is still alive and takes him to a place of safety. Returning from the burn with water, he finds his father murdered and the family’s talisman jewel stolen.
From this point, the boys, liaising through a system of secret bird calls, regularly change places, serving Gavin Dhu, known as the Black Fox for his cunning, his charm and his cruelty, to whom Jan - soon known as Ee-an or Ian, is gifted by Began Mor. They are determined to identify and take revenge on their father's murderer, and recover the stolen talisman. Gavin Dhu comes to admire their qualities and soon expects them to groom his horse and attend him as his equerry.
The story develops on one level as one in which Gavin Dhu and Began Mor are calculating how to acquire more power and lands for themselves by pledging allegiance to both Malcolm, King of the Scots, and to Ethelred, King of the English. Jan and Brus, being able to change places - one to act as their eyes and ears in Gavin Dhu's castle, the other free to pick up information in the surrounding countryside and to run errands as need be - are able eventually to join together in spoiling Gavin Dhu's ambitions.
On another level, de Angeli has - and this book is written in the 1950s by a woman brought up in a Presbyterian family in the Eastern USA - a proselytising agenda. Jan and Brus are Norse pagans, but they have entered Christian Scotland. It is not long, therefore, before they encounter Christian shepherds and servants who tell them gospel stories. Moreover, Gavin Dhu and his followers are practising Christians. Jan in particular is taken by this new religion, and since he spends more time than Brus in Gavin's castle, he is soon taking it to heart. His mentors are a lad his own age, Alan Dugal, held hostage by Gavin (who has also killed his father) in order to keep clan Dugal submissive, and Murdoch Gow, the castle's armourer. Murdoch has no love for Gavin Dhu, but as a Christian he knows a moment will come when the Black Fox will get his come-uppance. His watchword is 'I bide', one which Jan adopts, holding back from opportunities to kill Gavin. Indeed, Brus also holds back. Both boys are, in truth, restrained by their youth and never having killed anyone in cold blood, but Murdoch reinforces this natural disinclination from a moral point of view, successfully challenging their Norse habits of thought. ‘I bide’: a useful motto.
Gavin Dhu's wickedness is given further weight by his clearly sham Christianity. It is the Christianity of convenience, and it stands in stark contrast to the plainness of Murdoch Gow's and the several crofters and shepherds with whom the boys come into contact and by whom they are offered simple but sincere kindness and hospitality.
I was conscious as an adult of what de Angeli was up to, but as a child I don’t remember finding it oppressive, and anyway, it’s well handled and forms a natural enough part of the narrative in a fictional universe where simple people hold fast to sentiments that make sense to them. I wasn’t bothered by it, as I thought I might have been.
Another element of de Angeli’s storytelling is the excitement generated by the ways the boys have to contrive to carry out their plans through daring, courage, physical stamina, determination and quick thinking. They learn to manage their natural impulses to act peremptorily, especially Brus whose character is that of a lad specially skilled in the use of weapons and the art of tending animals. Jan, though adept in those arts is no enthusiastic master of them, preferring song-making, carving runes, and learning the law. It is no wonder he is more open to the Christian story than Brus. Together, however, they constitute a powerful unit, one that Murdoch Gow recognizes.
Finally, all this is set in a well-constructed Scottish landscape. De Angeli may or may not have visited Scotland, but she seems to know enough to recreate the castle, clan and political world of a 10th century Scotland in a way that I found convincing.
A good moral story for children. Jan and Brus are pretty good role models. The fictional world they dwell in may feel like an old-fashioned moral universe today, but it’s hardly one to be dismissed simply for being almost seventy year old.
December 30, 2024
This was a slog. The chapters are radically disaparate in length and some are way too long for reading aloud (18, 24, 14, 18, 25, 13, 26, 21, 22 pp.). Many chapters do not end satisfactorily. Since this is a twins book where the two are mostly kept separate, it would have made much more sense to have each twin's activity be confined to alternating chapters. With that and a concerted effort to include cliffhangers to push things along, the whole thing might have been greatly improved.
Within these chapters, the sentences are often meandering. An example, "He motioned them farther away from camp, and all three dropped to their knees, creeping over hummocky ground, sometimes marshy and wet, often scratchy with thistle and brier, Duig loping along behind them." (p.166) and another, "He told of the press of people who had followed Jesus to hear His words, how He told them to love one another, and to return good for evil, and how Jesus had to get into a ship to keep from being crowded into the sea; how, when evening had come, and Jesus and His disciples had set forth in the ship, a great storm of wind had risen and filled the ship with water, so the disciples were afraid." (p.115)
Some characters run through the entire book (or most of it), but others appear and then disappear in a chapter. It's not easy for the reader to know who is worthy of attention and who is just passing through. For example, there was a signficant subplot involving Alan MacDugal, who one would think is a major character. But then Alan disappears for the last quarter of the book, and his name only appears spoken as a reference. The conflict involving him is resolved by decree, and he isn't even there to hear the pronouncement. Not satisfying.
A couple of times we get recountings of previous activity for the benefit of new characters that we, as readers, already know. This is just deadly. Just write, "So they told him all that had happened," and be done with it.
I also felt that the ending was rushed. While some things can be resolved quickly (a battle), others like transforming from pagan Norse Vikings to Christian Scots require long arcs. Here most everything wraps up in but a few pages, and yet there are other things left undone, as if the author expected to have two more chapters available.
The author's illustrations were nice, but they can't compensate for the flaws in the text.
Within these chapters, the sentences are often meandering. An example, "He motioned them farther away from camp, and all three dropped to their knees, creeping over hummocky ground, sometimes marshy and wet, often scratchy with thistle and brier, Duig loping along behind them." (p.166) and another, "He told of the press of people who had followed Jesus to hear His words, how He told them to love one another, and to return good for evil, and how Jesus had to get into a ship to keep from being crowded into the sea; how, when evening had come, and Jesus and His disciples had set forth in the ship, a great storm of wind had risen and filled the ship with water, so the disciples were afraid." (p.115)
Some characters run through the entire book (or most of it), but others appear and then disappear in a chapter. It's not easy for the reader to know who is worthy of attention and who is just passing through. For example, there was a signficant subplot involving Alan MacDugal, who one would think is a major character. But then Alan disappears for the last quarter of the book, and his name only appears spoken as a reference. The conflict involving him is resolved by decree, and he isn't even there to hear the pronouncement. Not satisfying.
A couple of times we get recountings of previous activity for the benefit of new characters that we, as readers, already know. This is just deadly. Just write, "So they told him all that had happened," and be done with it.
I also felt that the ending was rushed. While some things can be resolved quickly (a battle), others like transforming from pagan Norse Vikings to Christian Scots require long arcs. Here most everything wraps up in but a few pages, and yet there are other things left undone, as if the author expected to have two more chapters available.
The author's illustrations were nice, but they can't compensate for the flaws in the text.
November 10, 2025
3.5*, history read aloud to go along with unit on Vikings/explorers. My second history read aloud from this author, I found it more readable than The Door in the Wall from a previous history year. This author is a very talented illustrator and I think I might like her illustrations more than her stories. It was not a bad story at all, it held my interest and had good pacing. My 7 and 13 year olds both listened.
I think the most interesting part was that it was a story about twins who nearly everyone in the book didn't know were twins. Their father was brilliant to counsel them about keeping that hidden till they knew if someone was friend or foe and to allow them to switch places when needed. I definitely needed the map at the front and referred back to it multiple times. I was much less familiar with land politics or ruling men of the time so I didn't follow that part of the story super well. Even with all that said it is an interesting story of villainous men hungry for power and land. As well as the fight of twin brothers to survive in a foreign land and expose a plot against King Malcolm of Scotland. Along the way you see what 10th century Scotland was like and how Viking teenagers may have reacted to being introduced to Christianity.
"...they wept together as honest men do when grief overtakes them." pg 74
"In His good time, He will help us," said Murdoch. "Perhaps He is helping us now, though we see it not. God's ways are not our ways. We must have faith, for even when all seems against us, all seems lost, we later find that all was for the best." pgs 95-96
I think the most interesting part was that it was a story about twins who nearly everyone in the book didn't know were twins. Their father was brilliant to counsel them about keeping that hidden till they knew if someone was friend or foe and to allow them to switch places when needed. I definitely needed the map at the front and referred back to it multiple times. I was much less familiar with land politics or ruling men of the time so I didn't follow that part of the story super well. Even with all that said it is an interesting story of villainous men hungry for power and land. As well as the fight of twin brothers to survive in a foreign land and expose a plot against King Malcolm of Scotland. Along the way you see what 10th century Scotland was like and how Viking teenagers may have reacted to being introduced to Christianity.
"...they wept together as honest men do when grief overtakes them." pg 74
"In His good time, He will help us," said Murdoch. "Perhaps He is helping us now, though we see it not. God's ways are not our ways. We must have faith, for even when all seems against us, all seems lost, we later find that all was for the best." pgs 95-96
October 12, 2021
Set about the year 1000 (during the reign of Ethelred) in Scotland. A Viking family leaves Norway in 3 ships to join a Danish settlement in England. A storm comes up and all ships are lost. Harald Redbeard and his 13-year-old twin sons Brus and Jan along with 16 others do land safely, but unfortunately are discovered by Began Mor who turns out to be not a nice man. They are all invited to dinner at the castle, a fight ensues, all are killed, Jan is captured, and their father is badly injured. Only Brus is free. He hides his father in a cavern and while searching for water someone murders the father and steals his ancient brooch, a talisman of his family. Brus buries his father, the discovers Jan was given to Black Gavin (the Black Fox) who is on his way home to Lorne with he entourage.
Brus and Jan then engage in something they have done all their lives: trade places at will because no one can tell them apart. Taking advantage of this subtefuge, they eventually learn the Black Fox plans to betray Scotland and are able to circumvent his plans, they get their jewel back, they find their long-lost mother, and they find a home of their own in Scotland. Now they accept they are Ian and Bruce--and truly Scots.
I didn't love this book much. Somehow it seemed harsh, fraught with sadness and anxiety (their risks certainly made me anxious). Their was little safety or happiness to mitigate the on-going peril of their double lives. I much preferred de Angeli's The Door in the Wall.
Brus and Jan then engage in something they have done all their lives: trade places at will because no one can tell them apart. Taking advantage of this subtefuge, they eventually learn the Black Fox plans to betray Scotland and are able to circumvent his plans, they get their jewel back, they find their long-lost mother, and they find a home of their own in Scotland. Now they accept they are Ian and Bruce--and truly Scots.
I didn't love this book much. Somehow it seemed harsh, fraught with sadness and anxiety (their risks certainly made me anxious). Their was little safety or happiness to mitigate the on-going peril of their double lives. I much preferred de Angeli's The Door in the Wall.
January 22, 2018
3.5 stars. I would rate this higher, but it took me forever to read (victim of a reading slump. It's not the book's fault.) I also kept comparing it to Rosemary Sutcliff's books. Unfair, I know. But still.
This book is well-written and the characters are good. It reminds me slightly of Robin Hood, and slightly of The Shining Company. I liked best that it is extremely accurate historically, complete with details in Scottish and Norwegian life. It depicts well the shift of Europe from the old gods to Christianity, giving a glimpse into what must have run through the minds of the men going a'Viking and instead encountering Christ.
If you like Gaelic and Norwegian history, definitely read this. Just be aware that it is written in an old-fashioned way.
This book is well-written and the characters are good. It reminds me slightly of Robin Hood, and slightly of The Shining Company. I liked best that it is extremely accurate historically, complete with details in Scottish and Norwegian life. It depicts well the shift of Europe from the old gods to Christianity, giving a glimpse into what must have run through the minds of the men going a'Viking and instead encountering Christ.
If you like Gaelic and Norwegian history, definitely read this. Just be aware that it is written in an old-fashioned way.
November 26, 2023
This Newbery Honor book was a surprise! I knew it was historical fiction, but I didn't realize until I started reading that it was about a family from Norway, sometime around 950 A.D. going a-Viking! They attempt to settle in Britain, where they have family along the Dane settlement. A storm diverts them, though, and Jan and Brus, twins, use their twinship and their skills to stay alive and renewal some treachery. I really enjoyed it, though I will admit that my ability to draw the connections between this story and The Last Kingdom was part of my enjoyment. This takes place about a generation after that storyline.
March 21, 2020
I got this book as a gift in elementary school 50 years ago and just had a notion to reread it. Apart from the fact that it has no female characters to speak of, it's a good read. Will appeal to the elementary or middle school student that enjoyed watching the Lord of the Rings movies. The characters and setting seem very authentic and the descriptions of what Edinburgh must have been like in the 10th century ring very true.
July 27, 2017
This has been a favorite since I was in about 5th grade. I love it for the history, the Scotland, the twins Ian (Jan) and Brus, the writing (which has just the right touch of archaic names and phrases to make one feel like one is in the story), the drawings, and every other quality I could enumerate.
February 27, 2020
2.5/3⭐️. I really wanted to like this book a lot because it came highly recommended and it was fine- but not great. The girls had mixed reviews- 9yo thought it was good and 14yo didn’t like it bc of the “old” language. It was def harder to read aloud and I’m sure my cadence and pronunciations were often wrong and exacerbated her dislike.
(Own physical copy)
(Own physical copy)
January 9, 2024
My boys were asking for another chapter each time we read. We thoroughly enjoyed this book. My young boys appreciated the brothers abilities to switch places and evade almost everyone. I appreciated the historical people brought in throughout. It made me want to read them the book -Who in the world was the unready king? About Ethelred the Saxon.
August 10, 2019
Solid historical fiction! Better than Sally Watson’s “Highland Rebel”, where the main character constantly finds strength in anger. Instead Harald’s twin sons develop maturity in de Angeli’s tale, overcoming grief and a thirst for vengeance as their tales entwine.
January 13, 2022
We enjoyed this story as a great tie-in to our Viking studies. Yet, in a sense, it’s a coming-of-age story as well. The journey begins as going “a-Viking” to new lands, becomes a journey of vengeance and trickery, and then grows into an even greater journey of faith.
December 4, 2017
The story is quite exciting, but I wish I had been able to find this on audio, because the language of the Middle Ages and the unfamiliar Scottish and Norse terms were a bit of a struggle.
May 31, 2018
Good read.
August 26, 2018
It was just boring. I was also annoyed that poor Jan had to lose his identity but Brus got to keep his. Seemed strangely unfair.
April 29, 2019
3.5⭐️
June 28, 2019
it was a good book
January 29, 2020
Good story. My 7 yr old enjoyed it as well. I liked Door in the Wall a bit better than this one but it was still a good story.
January 17, 2022
What an absolute treasure of a book
December 8, 2023
This was great. Can't wait to share this with my son!
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January 14, 2024Delightful read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews