The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson, Translated from the Swedish by Michael Meyer, published by Collins London 1954.

First  (complete) English Edition in Hardback with dustjacket, 1st Printing in very good condition.

The classic, beloved Viking saga in a masterpiece of historical fiction; one of the world's greatest adventure stories.

Blue cloth 511pp, bumped to spine and corners, decorative map endpapers, neat bookseller's stamp, bookmark shadow and light foxing to half-title page, otherwise text unmarked, clean and bright throughout.

Dustjacket unclipped and complete, small corner chips, edge rubs and a few small closed edge tears, light foxing to inside hidden flaps, overall very good.

Frans Gunnar Bengtsson (1894–1954) was a prolific Swedish translator, essayist, and biographer. His two-volume biography of Charles XII won the Swedish Academy’s annual prize in 1938.

The author's only work of fiction, The Long Ships was originally published in two volumes: Red Orm on the Western Way in 1941, and Red Orm at Home and on the Eastern Way in 1945.

They were first combined and published in English in this 1954 edition by Collins. Scarce, Complete 1st Edition.