The Icelandic Adventures of Pike Ward

The Icelandic Adventures of Pike Ward is the entertaining and intrepid diary of a Devon fish merchant who became an Icelandic knight. An important figure in the birth of modern Iceland, Pike Ward's writing and photographs captured a unique record of his adopted country at the beginning of the twentieth century. His 1906 journal is a frank and funny account of one year in his life, from mixing in Reykjavík society to bargaining for fish on the remote coasts of the north and east. He must travel by pack horse and steamship through wild terrain and terrible seas, all the while attempting to outwit his rivals and cope with the challenges of surviving in a tough land. An introduction and epilogue by K.J. Findlay place the story in the context of a pivotal period in Iceland's history and explain Pike Ward's role in the nation's remarkable rise.

Keywords: Iceland, history, diary, biography, fishing, fish trade, merchant, Reykjavik, society, Icelandic history, stories, saga, social history, autobiography, ethnic, adventurers, explorers, culture, travelogues