The Vikings discovered America and traded slaves in Baghdad. They sometimes buried their dead in ships, but probably did not burn them. And they did not wear horned helmets. Historian Eleanor Barraclough separates myth from reality and recommends books on the medieval Norse pillagers who have fascinated everyone from Hollywood to Hitler.

Rory McTurk, Emeritus Professor of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds, introduces us to the landscape of old Icelandic culture, addressing the Icelandic sagas, medieval Nordic history, and links to Anglo-Saxon England.

The bestselling Norwegian crime writer, Jo Nesbø, recommends some of the classics of his genre, many of which have not (yet) been translated into English.

Crime writer and Golden Dagger winner, Ann Cleeves, insists the bleak, snowy, wild spaces of Nordic crime fiction are more than a backdrop. The environment really affects the people that grow out of that landscape.