The Sealwoman's Gift

In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent. In this brilliant reimagining Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Ásta the pastor's wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture Ásta meets the loss of both her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home: the stories in her head.