For fans of provocative history and “Game of Thrones” alike, this revisionist narrative reveals how the little-known women of the Viking era shaped their world.

Until Scandinavia converted to Christianity and came under the rule of powerful kings, the Vikings were a dominant force in the medieval world. Outfitted with wind-powered sailing ships, they left their mark, spreading terror across Europe, sacking cities, deposing kings, and ransacking entire economies. After the Vikings, the world was never the same.

But as much as we know about this celebrated culture, there is a large missing piece: its women. All but ignored by contemporary European writers, these shadowy figures were thought to have played little part in the famous feats of the Vikings, instead remaining at home as wives, mothers, and homemakers.

In this cutting-edge, revisionist portrait, renowned science journalist Heather Pringle turns those assumptions on their head, using the latest archaeological research and historical findings to reveal this group as they actually were. Members of a complex society rich in culture, courage, and a surprisingly modern gender ideology, the women of the Viking age were in fact forces to be reckoned with, serving as:

• Sorceresses
• Warriors
• Traders
• Artisans
• Explorers
• Settlers
• Landowners
• Power brokers
• Queens

Both ambitious and compelling, THE NORTHWOMEN is the true story of some of the most captivating figures of the Viking world—and what they reveal about the modern age.

Heather Pringle's profile page

Heather Pringle is a science writer who specializes in archaeology. The author of four other books, her feature articles have appeared in numerous publications including National Geographic magazine, Science, Discover, Scientific American, and Archaeology. The co-founder of the science blog The Last Word on Nothing, she lives in Victoria, Canada.

"Heather Pringle is one of the world’s leading science journalists—and in the pages of The Northwomen she allows the ‘other Vikings’ to step out of the shadows and into the light. The female experience of the early medieval North is explored in vivid prose, with a personal touch and a welcome commitment to balancing our readings of the past. Surprising, shocking, sometimes controversial, but always enlightening, this book presents a fascinatingly different Viking Age.” —Neil Price, author of Children of Ash and Elm
“Beyond the epic poem of Beowulf and Grendel’s unnamed monster of a mother is the world of real Viking women, who had names and actual histories. Thanks to Heather Pringle, these Viking women live again in all their glory: no longer overlooked and forgotten but remembered for who they truly were.” —Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire and World on Fire
“I Ioved this book! In The Northwomen, Heather Pringle uses her exceptional skills as an investigative journalist to uncover the women of the Viking Age. In her rich prose, these remote figures, often overlooked, come alive to emerge from the shadows of history.” —Birgitta Wallace, author of Westward Vikings: The Saga of L'Anse Aux Meadows
“This book is as vivid as it is thoroughly researched, deftly invoking the many powerful women of the Viking age: leaders, sorceresses, voyagers, warriors, and rebels. The book immerses you in the past; you feel the sting of the salty ocean wind, hear the creak of rope against the wooden ships, and taste the tart grapes of ancient Vinland as these extraordinary women are pulled from the shadows of a patriarchal past.” —Kathlyn M. Cooney, author of When Women Ruled the World and Professor of Ancient Egyptian Art & Architecture, University of California Los Angeles