Alice Blackwell & Barbara Henderson: Artifacts and Fiction

Be catapulted back in time to the Viking Age with this thrilling new historical adventure story from one of Scotland’s finest children’s authors, Barbara Henderson. In The Chessmen Thief we meet 12 year old Kylan, a Viking slave who helped carve the Lewis chess pieces. When Kylan gets the chance to return to the Isle of Lewis where they were originally crafted, the chess pieces become his only chance of survival. After a reading from the novel and giving some writing tips, Barbara is joined by Dr Alice Blackwell, Senior Curator of Medieval Archaeology and History, and the person who looks after the real-life chess pieces on display in the National Museum of Scotland. In this event, filmed live at the 2021 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Barbara and Alice talk to Steve Brusatte, author of The Age of Dinosaurs, about how these incredible medieval artifacts still spark the imagination of so many.

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Monday 26 August

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