The Road to Hel - A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature

This book is a classic and for good reason. Dr Ellis carefully examines archaeology and textual sources in turn, looking at a wide range of topics regarding burial practices and views of the afterlife. Her discussion of funerary human sacrifice is very important, as is her discussion of cremation vs burial. While her book leaves a lot of avenues for further research (for example concerning Valkyries, or Norse views of necromancy), Dr Ellis has shown herself to be a giant on whose shoulders every future scholar in this area will have to stand.

This book however covers a great deal more than just death and the afterlife. Discussions of how elf and dis relate to these topics are included as are problems in the sources (such as the elf-woman in the Saga of Hrolf Kraki).