{"title":"The Master of Hestviken","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-master-of-hestviken-the-axe-volume-i","title":"The Master of Hestviken: The Axe (Volume I)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Sigrid Undset | Translated by Arthur G. Chater\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Master of Hestviken tetralogy, \u003c\/b\u003eset in thirteenth-century Norway, is the story of Olav Audunsson, a man whose life is a chronicle of conflict: between the brutal facts of the fading pagan order and the ascendant light of Christianity, between violence and peace, fidelity and betrayal, transgression and redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Axe\u003c\/i\u003e follows Olav from his childhood days with the family of Steinfinn Toresson. Foster-son to Steinfinn, Olav is also his prospective son-in-law―having been impulsively betrothed to Steinfinn’s daughter Ingunn when both were yet children. As youth gives way to adulthood, so does friendship to passion, and the couple―Olav, headstrong and proud; Ingunn, fair and serene―heedlessly pledge themselves to each other. Little do they reckon that their betrothal is no guard against sin and their life together, if it is to be, is now beset by disgrace, dishonor, and even death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt seemed to him that they were as two trees, torn up by the spring flood and adrift on a stream―and he was afraid the stream would part them asunder. At that fiery moment he seemed to have full knowledge of what it meant to possess her and what to lose her.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eConsidered by Undset to be her best work―surpassing even \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e, inspiration for her Nobel Prize in Literature―\u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures the manners, morals, and spirit of its age, firmly grasping the basic realities of human character and history and creating a protagonist and a world of intense reality. Hailed as a triumph of fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003etypifies Undset’s talent for seeing far into past and future alike and rendering “both the darkness which lies before them and the way through to the light beyond.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset \u003c\/b\u003e(1882–1949) was a Norwegian novelist and essayist and a convert to the Catholic faith. In 1928, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A number of Undset’s books are available from Cluny, including \u003cem\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Orchid \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Burning Bush\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSaga of Saints\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback:\u003c\/strong\u003e 322pp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 978-1685954628\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cluny Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48156629467355,"sku":"978-1685954628","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0458\/2329\/5645\/files\/ProductImages_5.5x8.5--15466.jpg?v=1768585796"},{"product_id":"the-master-of-hestviken-the-snake-pit-volume-ii","title":"The Master of Hestviken: The Snake Pit (Volume II)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Sigrid Undset | Translated by Arthur G. Chater\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Master of Hestviken tetralogy, \u003c\/b\u003eset in thirteenth-century Norway, is the story of Olav Audunsson, a man whose life is a chronicle of conflict: between the brutal facts of the fading pagan order and the ascendant light of Christianity, between violence and peace, fidelity and betrayal, transgression and redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Snake Pit \u003c\/i\u003efollows Olav and Ingunn as they return to Olav’s ancestral home of Hestviken. There, under the weight of past sins, the tragic loss of children, and the persistence of suffering in body and temptation in spirit, their marriage begins to flounder. For Olav, life now resembles the image carved upon his doorpost: the legend of Gunnar, who charmed all the snakes who threatened him, save one―which bit him to the heart. Wrestling his own serpents, Olav must muster the will to name and renounce the one with the power to kill body and soul alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLong ago he had acknowledged the truth of these words: the man who is bent upon doing his own will shall surely see the day when he finds he has done that which he never willed.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eConsidered by Undset to be her best work―surpassing even \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e, inspiration for her Nobel Prize in Literature―\u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures the manners, morals, and spirit of its age, firmly grasping the basic realities of human character and history and creating a protagonist and a world of intense reality. Hailed as a triumph of fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003etypifies Undset’s talent for seeing far into past and future alike and rendering “both the darkness which lies before them and the way through to the light beyond.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset \u003c\/b\u003e(1882–1949) was a Norwegian novelist and essayist and a convert to the Catholic faith. In 1928, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A number of Undset’s books are available from Cluny, including \u003cem\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Orchid \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Burning Bush\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSaga of Saints\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback:\u003c\/strong\u003e 250pp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 978-1685954680\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cluny Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48278151823579,"sku":"978-1685954680","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0458\/2329\/5645\/files\/ProductImages_5.5x8.5--15494.jpg?v=1771427310"},{"product_id":"the-master-of-hestviken-the-wilderness-volume-iii","title":"The Master of Hestviken: The Wilderness (Volume III)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Sigrid Undset | Translated by Arthur G. Chater\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Master of Hestviken tetralogy, \u003c\/b\u003eset in thirteenth-century Norway, is the story of Olav Audunsson, a man whose life is a chronicle of conflict: between the brutal facts of the fading pagan order and the ascendant light of Christianity, between violence and peace, fidelity and betrayal, transgression and redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wilderness \u003c\/i\u003efollows Olav as he voyages from Hestviken to England, hoping for a respite from the regrets and ruins of life—his wife dead, his son estranged, and his own soul still stricken with a secret darkness. In London, Olav meets occasions for further sin but also for acceptance of the bonds of love—love for Ingunn, for home, for God. When his path eventually leads back to Norway, Olav answers the call to arms and goes to war. Battling for his homeland, he must reckon with suffering as a healing power, a force which can lift a man up and befit him with a deep, fierce joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHis life had now become like a journey in a trackless wilderness; he saw neither path nor trail, and he had to find his way alone.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eConsidered by Undset to be her best work―surpassing even \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e, inspiration for her Nobel Prize in Literature―\u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures the manners, morals, and spirit of its age, firmly grasping the basic realities of human character and history and creating a protagonist and a world of intense reality. Hailed as a triumph of fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003etypifies Undset’s talent for seeing far into past and future alike and rendering “both the darkness which lies before them and the way through to the light beyond.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset \u003c\/b\u003e(1882–1949) was a Norwegian novelist and essayist and a convert to the Catholic faith. In 1928, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A number of Undset’s books are available from Cluny, including \u003cem\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Orchid \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Burning Bush\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSaga of Saints\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"p1\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback:\u003c\/strong\u003e 230pp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 978-1685954741\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cluny Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48335582232795,"sku":"978-1685954741","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0458\/2329\/5645\/files\/ProductImages_5.5x8.5--15517.jpg?v=1773083505"},{"product_id":"the-master-of-hestviken-the-son-avenger-volume-iv","title":"The Master of Hestviken: The Son Avenger (Volume IV)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Sigrid Undset | Translated by Arthur G. Chater\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Master of Hestviken tetralogy, \u003c\/b\u003eset in thirteenth-century Norway, is the story of Olav Audunsson, a man whose life is a chronicle of conflict: between the brutal facts of the fading pagan order and the ascendant light of Christianity, between violence and peace, fidelity and betrayal, transgression and redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Son Avenger \u003c\/i\u003efollows Olav into old age and the resolution of his life. For all its faults and failures, its tragedies and travails, the years of Olav’s earthly pilgrimage have not been wholly unfruitful: with him still in the twilight of his years are his son and daughter. Even in this, however, sorrow abides, for Eirik and Cecilia―like their mother and father before them―find that the ways of love and happiness are not easy. Thus does Olav’s secret sin still cry out for vengeance―a cry Olav must heed if he is to meet the Justice which he has so long dreaded and receive the Mercy which alone can grant him peace at the end of his days.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHe looked into his father’s bloodshot eyes and felt that they gave him his death: it was not hate, it was not anger… He knew not what it was—these were the eyes of a man who came from a land that has never been seen by the living.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eConsidered by Undset to be her best work―surpassing even \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e, inspiration for her Nobel Prize in Literature―\u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures the manners, morals, and spirit of its age, firmly grasping the basic realities of human character and history and creating a protagonist and a world of intense reality. Hailed as a triumph of fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken \u003c\/i\u003etypifies Undset’s talent for seeing far into past and future alike and rendering “both the darkness which lies before them and the way through to the light beyond.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset \u003c\/b\u003e(1882–1949) was a Norwegian novelist and essayist and a convert to the Catholic faith. In 1928, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A number of Undset’s books are available from Cluny, including \u003cem\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Orchid \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Burning Bush\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSaga of Saints\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"p1\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback:\u003c\/strong\u003e 302pp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 978-1685954765\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cluny Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48609065205979,"sku":"978-1685954765","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0458\/2329\/5645\/files\/ProductImages_5.5x8.5--15526.jpg?v=1776432770"}],"url":"https:\/\/clunymedia.com\/collections\/the-master-of-hestviken.oembed","provider":"Cluny Media","version":"1.0","type":"link"}