The stories chosen for this book come from the Ancient lands of the Vikings, they come from Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. These stories are divided into four groups: Princes and trolls, Tales from the Inglenook, from the Land of Ice and Fire and Kings and Heroes. In this excellent book, there are folk tales as well as sagas and tales of kings and heroes, and in all of them Roger Townsend shows exact understanding of the nature of the fairy tale, never forgetting that however far-fetched the tale the values must be true and human. The language is elegant with a rich vein of poetry, and there is humour as well.