The Folkungs

By: Margaretha Espersson Javits

Narrated by: Wyn Delano

Based on 14th-century Scandinavian actual events, The Folkungs—Sweden's royal family—is a generational saga interwoven with jealousy, conspiracy, rivalry, treason, regicide, exorcism, paganism, torture, witchcraft, shamanism, falconry, folklore, power struggles, and deeply touching love stories.

It begins at Nykoping Castle, Sweden, 1291. King Magnus is dead and his three young sons—Birger (11), Erik (9), and Valdemar (8)—await the arrival of the appointed regent of Sweden, a powerful noble and celebrated warrior who will teach them the arts of governing, knighthood, and skills of war until the young king, Birger, comes of age. Under his tutelage, Erik, the middle child, will show himself to be the most intelligent and skillful of the three; Valdemar, the youngest, will look on in admiration while the fledgling king will bridle with jealousy.

Arriving with the regent is his nine-year-old daughter, Kristina, who stares aghast at the royal fortress rising before her like a grim symbol of doom. Her fear is well-founded: Here wastes away a king usurped and imprisoned by his brother, where the future holds even darker treachery.

Kristina, all innocence, is entering a world where personal desires are sacrificed to political necessity. Marriage is about forging international alliances so Birger, king of Sweden, will marry Princess Marta of Denmark; the king of Denmark will marry Princess Ingeborg of Sweden while Dukes Valdemar and Erik will marry a Norwegian princess or a princess from one of the German principalities. Kristina cannot but wonder what her own future will hold.

As the young princes mature, King Birger proves himself to be increasingly inept and manipulated by the self-seeking regent. He accuses his innocent brothers of treachery and wages war against them as punishment, wreaking unnecessary bloodshed on the land. For Erik this is intolerable. Can Sweden be left prey to his brother's weak rule? Alliances are formed across the borders as the royals start taking sides.

Along with Scandinavia's folklore, magic, and myths, the author's words are brought to life across the snowy landscapes, light summer nights, and medieval castles of Scandinavia.

©2021 M. E. Javits (P)2022 M. E. Javits

a fabulous book

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Would read anything Margaret’s esperson Javitzwres

wonderful 👏

loved it narration great enjoyed it very much would recommend this book. Very much enjoyed this program.

Narration

I did not enjoy the narrators voice. It seemed melodramatic, not sincere. I enjoyed the story very much.

Our Scandinavian Forebears

This very long tale is gripping, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. To reduce the length, I set the replay at 1.5, which seemed to heighten the intensity of the drama.

Strong storyline

I loved the story. The characters were well developed, causing strong feelings about them.
The narrator read the book in a most distracting way that I often laughed at the awful voices and misplaced inflections that misrepresented moods or emotions.

The great story kept me hanging in.

The story was great!

The narrator left a lot to be desired. His range of voices was comical and not suited to the characters or the situation.