A brilliantly written novel, set in Iceland and Denmark in the 17th century. Accused of encouraging immorality, Gudmundur Andresson was sent to prison in Copenhagen’s notorious Blue Tower. Andresson is probably the only prisoner who has managed to „escape“ from there, which he did when he accidentally fell through the bars of his cell window, to the astonishment of an aristocratic couple who were copulating inside a room below. This dramatic entrance drew the king’s attention to Andresson’s case, and in the end the charges against him were dropped. A timeless and universal historical novel.

• Shortlisted for the European Aristeion Literary Award
• Nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize
• Nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2001

“Gripping saga … insistently memorable and intensely real.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY