As we all know, the women of mythology tend to be poorly served – both in their original source material, and in subsequent historical examination. (Perhaps I exaggerate… but really? Not that much.)

In this excellent book, Lisa Hannett looks at the women of Norse mythology. She does so in a way that is very particular to her expertise – as an historian and a writer of speculative fiction: she retells the stories of the women and also puts the myths into their historical context – both the context of what life was like for women when the myths were probably initially told and then written down (which are not at all the same time), and how the original audience likely received the stories. This level of historical explanation has the potential to come off rather dry, but Hannett presents it in an engaging, readable style: there are references to pop culture, and her own travels to Iceland and Scandinavia; she uses precise language but in such a way that it never becomes jargon. She puts herself into the book – this isn’t some clinical academic pretending that her own experiences have no impact on the way she approaches her material. And she also looks at the enduring legacy of many of the characters – from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Wagner’s Ring Cycle, via other iterations of Freyja, the Norns, and Valkryies. Hannett covers a lot in just over 250 pages.

There were some characters in here I had not previously come across, and others I had not experienced at this level of detail. I certainly hadn’t fully appreciated the role of the Norns, nor of Freyja as the goddess of sex, love, and death. Obviously not all female characters in Norse mythology can be covered in such a book as this. Instead, Hannett has chosen specific characters – some are those she clearly is particularly intrigued by, others chosen for what they reveal about particular aspects of Norse society. All together, they provide a sometimes challenging, always intriguing insight into the myths and their audiences.

This is a companion book to Hannett’s Viking Women, which looked at the (maybe, mostly) historical women of the Viking sagas. It is also, unsurprisingly, brilliant. You should definitely read both of them.