On the Cold Coasts
Vilborg Davidsdottir and Alda Sigmundsdottir

AmazonCrossing; Reprint edition
March 13, 2012 / ISBN 978-1611090956
Historical Fiction / Fifteenth Century Iceland
Amazon

Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe

Ignoring the Norse King Eric's embargo, about 100 ships sail from England to Iceland each summer, seeking out the abundant fishing grounds. They trade other commodities such as flour, ale, wine, and boots for Icelandic stock fish, woolen cloth and sulphur, which is used for gunpowder in England's ongoing war with the French. The English persuade the Pope in Rome, the highest authority of the church, to appoint an English bishop in Iceland, to smooth out their trade negotiations with the Icelanders.

Ragna is betrothed to Thorkell, her future assured. Then a fleet of English ships is caught in a horrible storm off the coasts of Iceland, twenty-five ships are lost. Ragna, the daughter of a respected family, takes on the care of one of the seamen who washed ashore. The boy disappears, and Ragna discovers that her relationship with him has resulted in pregnancy. After a difficult childbirth, Ragna is barren and stigmatized as a fallen woman. She is left with no prospects for marriage when her betrothal to Thorkell is ultimately canceled, but she does have a son to raise.

A decade later, Ragna becomes a housekeeper to the new English bishop in North Iceland, where her former fiance, the passionate and ambitious Thorkell, is a priest. They embark on a doomed love affair... priests cannot marry and Ragna will not be a concubine. She is always looking at the English sailors... wondering if her first love might be among them. Ragna discovers that her host, the bishop, is instigating the conflict between the English and Nordic settlers to his own gain. It has a devastating impact on Ragna. On the Cold Coasts is a powerful, entrancing story of love and personal sacrifice.

An entrancing story of personal and social conflict, compelling characters and a complex plot, with disturbing conflicts between the government, the church, and with Ragna and Thorkell. The ending was not what I expected.

This is Davidsdottir's first story to be translated to English, but I certainly hope it isn't the last. She writes with great passion, and a sure knowledge of the history of the setting.