In this Anglo-Saxon epic, the hero Beowulf fights horrifying, ghastly monsters in his bid to save the hall of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.



In this Anglo-Saxon epic, the hero Beowulf fights horrifying, ghastly monsters in his bid to save the hall of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.

Composed by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon singer toward the end of the first millennium CE, Beowulf is an Old English epic tale recounting the adventures of Beowulf, a Geatish hero from present-day Sweden. He is called on by Hrothgar, King of the Danes, to defeat Grendel, the powerful monster that threatens his great hall.

As one of the earliest extant poems in a modern European language, it depicts a feudal world of blood, victory, and death—a world that exalts heroes who travel great distances to prove their might, against all odds, defeating supernatural beasts.

Ringing with the beauty, power, and artistry that have kept its poetry alive for a thousand years, this venerable tale is now available as an elegantly designed, jacketed hardcover edition translated by John Earle with an introduction from early British literature and epic poetry scholar and professor Tom Schneider.

Essential volumes for the shelves of every classic literature lover, the Chartwell Classics series includes beautifully presented works and collections from some of the most important authors in literary history. Chartwell Classics are the editions of choice for the most discerning literature buffs.

Other titles in the Chartwell Classics Series include: The Essential Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe; The Essential Tales of H.P. Lovecraft; The Federalist Papers; The Inferno; The Call of the Wild and White Fang; Moby Dick; The Odyssey; Pride and Prejudice; Grimm’s Fairy Tales; Emma; The Great Gatsby; The Secret Garden; Anne of Green Gables; The Phantom of the Opera; The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital; The Republic; Frankenstein; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Meditations; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass; A Tales of Two Cities; The Alchemist; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Little Women; Wuthering Heights; Peter Pan; Persuasion; Aesop’s Fables; The Constitution of the United States and Selected Writings; Crime and Punishment; Dracula; Great Expectations; The Iliad; Irish and Fairy Folk Tales; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The War of the Worlds; and The Time Machine and The Invisible Man.