'Forget Richard Branson, the audacious female traveller Gudrid of Iceland is the original explorer's explorer ... Elphinstone has written a fine tribute to a woman whose tale is as warm and inviting as a hot spring on a clear winter day.' The Times

A haunting, compelling historical novel, The Sea Road is a daring re-telling of the 11th-century Viking exploration of the North Atlantic from the viewpoint of one extraordinary woman. Gudrid lives at the remote edge of the known world, in a starkly beautiful landscape where the sea is the only connection to the shores beyond. It is a world where the old Norse gods are still invoked, even as Christianity gains favour, where the spirits of the dead roam the vast northern ice-fields, tormenting the living, and Viking explorers plunder foreign shores.

Taking the accidental discovery of North America as its focal point, Gudrid's narrative describes a multi-layered voyage into the unknown, all recounted with astonishing immediacy and rich atmospheric detail.

"a gripping historical novel...written with considerable style." - * The Bookseller *

"the author cleverly interweaves Gutrin's discourse with her innermost thoughts ... the Sea Road will appeal to historian, environmentalists, anthropologists and just ordinary cruising seamen." - * Cruising *

"The Sea Road offers a new take on the remarkable early seafaring adventures of the Norwegians, and on the spread of Christianity in the pagan north, and is all the more rewarding for that." - * The Scotsman *

"Forget Richard Branson, the audacious female traveller Gudrid of Iceland is the original explorer's explorer ... Elphinstone has written a fine tribute to a woman whose tale is as warm and inviting as a hot spring on a clear winter day." - * The Times *