A short, fierce novel set in 13th-century Norway by Sigrid Undset, who later won the Nobel Prize for Kristin Lavransdatter. The story follows Vigdis Gunnarsdatter after she is violated by a man she trusted — her pursuit of justice and honour drives the narrative through a landscape of fjords, farms, and early Christianity's uneasy hold on Norse society.
Less well known than Undset's trilogy but arguably tighter and more intense. Translated by Arthur G. Chater. Essential reading if you're interested in how medieval Scandinavia actually felt to those who lived in it.