“Stories from the Northern Myths” delves into some of the tales that directly influenced 20th century fantasy literature in general and its most famous exemplar, The Lord of the Rings, in particular. This historical reprint covers legends that include the cursed hoard of the Rhine Gold and the ring associated with it that corrupts and transforms its owners; the adventures of the Germanic hero Siegfried, reminiscent in many ways of the Classical heroes Achilles and Hercules; and the story of Baldur, most beloved of the gods, who was slain through the trickery and malice of the deity Loki.

Author James Baldwin (1841–1925) was an American educator who was widely published as an author on subjects that included biography, folklore, literature, and mythology. This edition of his “Stories from the Northern Myths” includes all of the black-and-white illustrations by artists Robert Blum and R.B. Birch that appeared in the original 1881 publication, along with 20 more images specially chosen to further illustrate and enhance this publication, most of them full-color images by acclaimed fantasy artist Arthur Rackham.