The Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff

Recommended: Yes; a story of the last remaining Danes after William the Conqueror takes over England, and their struggle to survive.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult.

Summary of Plot: Frytha was the daughter of a high-born Saxon. When she was five, they burned her parent’s home, and she fled with the shepherd to a secret place in the mountains, the Dale. There she met Bjorn, the young fosterling of Haethcyn the Bard. They grow up together, and when the time comes, Bjorn becomes a warrior. But a new danger is coming. The Dale has always been assaulted, but this time the enemy is bringing a greater host then ever seen before. Bjorn is sent out as a spy, hiding his greatest fear—that while being tortured, he would reveal the secret place of the Shield Ring, the ring of mountains that surround the Dale.

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