Simon Goes North to Novgorod

About the Book

Simon ben Levi, a sixteen year old Jewish trader in Viking Norway and his young wife Leah, travel north from Bjorgvin to trade for furs, ivory and jewels. Trading on the arctic seas and in the deep northern forests requires ships, swords, diplomatic skill and especially courage from both to deal with Russian princes, Viking jarls and Saami tribesmen. Nor is Bjorgvin, now Bergen, a peaceful city in the eleventh century when this tale takes place.

About the Author

Michael Cohn, anthropologist and teacher, has travelled on fishing boats, coastal steamers, and coast guard vessels along many shores of the North Atlantic. He has visited northern Scandinavia, the Shetlands, and Iceland as well as York, England and Bergen, Norway, where much of the action of this novel takes place. As guest curator, he has created an exhibit of the Jewish sea traders of the twelfth century at the Yeshiva University Museum in New York City. Illustrator’s Biography Erik Ronnberg is a professional model boat builder whose ships, paintings, and research articles are widely known.