Bjarndýr and the Marsh Monster

A danta of Somhairle na Dagney (Lord Sorley of Gundarstorp), Scáeli of Linrathe

Well, here it is. What began life on Substack as a serialized epic poem called ‘Hrothgar and Hryllingur’ is now a small chapbook with a new title, the title it’s known as by the characters in the book I’m currently writing, An Unwise Prince. It’s one of the connecting threads between the new series and the previous one, Empire’s Legacy.

It is a retelling, by a character from Empire’s Legacy, Sorley, of part of what we know in our world as Beowulf. But Sorley’s world isn’t ours, so all the Christian references had to go, and I included a few conlanguage words, but they’re both defined and fairly easy to work out in context. Some names I changed, some I left alone.

The chapbook has both a facsimile medieval manuscript prose presentation and the poem in modern font, differing only in layout and font.

It’s available in both e-book - but be warned, it’s fixed format to keep the medieval facsimile intact - and a paperback chapbook that is priced higher than I’d like but am forced to by new pricing and royalty regimes. Currently it’s only available on Amazon, but I’m working on other sites.

It was a labour of challenge and love, and it’s also available for free to read either here on Substack as a serial poem, or, on my website for free. So why did I publish it? For my high school English teacher, who introduced me to Beowulf fifty years ago. The chapbook’s dedicated to him, and a copy is going in the mail to him the minute my author copy arrives.

Purchase link: https://books2read.com/marshmonster

Website link: https://marianlthorpe.com/hrothgar-and-hryllingur/

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