Lindbergh, Judith 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born March 30, 1963, in Worcester, MA; daughter of Paul David and Bernice (Fieldman) Lindbergh; married Chip Davis, 1988; children: two sons.Education: Attended City University of New York, 1995. Hobbies and other interests: Archaeology, anthropology, and mythology.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Viking Publicity, Penguin Group, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Has worked as dancer, actress, and photographer. Photography has been exhibited at St. John the Divine, New York, NY; Hopper House Art Center, Nyack, NY; and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild.

WRITINGS:

The Thrall's Tale (novel), Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of photographs to Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga; contributor to periodicals, includingArchaeology, World & I, Scandinavian Review, andOther Voices.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Thrall's Tale was adapted as an audiobook.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A novel.

SIDELIGHTS:

Judith Lindbergh was inspired to write her first novel, The Thrall's Tale, in 1991, when three Viking ship replicas arrived at New York City and Lindbergh chanced to see them. The small size of the craft, and the thought of the perilous North Atlantic sea journeys set her imagination to work. Three women form the core of The Thrall's Tale. Katla is a beautiful young slave, born in bondage to an Irish-Christian woman who was captured in a Viking raid. In 985 C.E., Katla leaves for Greenland with her master's household. She rejects her daughter, Bibrau, who is conceived when Katla is raped by the son of her wealthy owner. Bibrau's only mentor is Thorbjorg, a prophetess who is feared and shunned by most people in the community. Bibrau becomes the guardian of ancient pagan knowledge. Powerful and angry, she is a key player in a clash of cultures when Leif Eriksson introduces Christianity to Greenland. AKirkus Reviews writer found the story "grim," but also called it an "atmospheric take of the Middle Ages."The Thrall's Tale was recommended by Jane Henriksen Baird in Library Journal as "thoroughly researched and beautifully executed," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer called it "dramatic and entertaining."

In an interview for Curled Up with a Good Book,Lindbergh commented: "I chose three women protagonists because I wanted to tell a tale of marginalized people in a marginalized society. To me, Greenland is both geographically and psychologically as far to the edge as one can travel. And women in Norse culture are essentially invisible, with a few rare exceptions from the sagas. … I cannot imagine a more marginalized individual than a female slave in Viking Greenland.

"Most of us live lives that are essentially insignificant in the scheme of history. And yet we live, want, love, lose, hurt, mourn. To these unnoticed people, I wanted to give the spotlight. In The Thrall's Tale, the historically important characters, like Leif Eriksson and Erik the Red, take second stage."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2005, Marta Segal Block, review of The Thrall's Tale, p. 24.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2005, review of The Thrall's Tale, p. 1250.

Library Journal, November 15, 2005, Jane Henriksen Baird, review of The Thrall's Tale, p. 63.

Publishers Weekly, October 31, 2005, review of The Thrall's Tale, p. 33.

ONLINE

Curled Up with a Good Book, http://www.culredup.com/ (April 11, 2006), Luan Gaines, interview with Judith Lindbergh, and review of The Thrall's Tale.

Judith Lindbergh's Home Page,http://www.judithlindbergh.com(April 11, 2006).