Langrish, Katherine

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Langrish, Katherine

Personal

Married; children: two daughters. Education: University of London, B.A. (first-class honors), 1979.

Addresses

Home—England.

Career

Writer. Worked as a riding instructor and waitress; International School, Fontainebleau, France, instructor; Lloyd's Register of Ships, London, England, member of staff; literacy worker in Corning, NY.

Writings

JUVENILE FICTION

Troll Fell, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Troll Mill, HarperCollins (London, England), 2005, Eos (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

The author of the young-adult fantasy novels Troll Fell and Troll Mill, Katherine Langrish has been interested in fantasy worlds since childhood. She has taught storytelling at the International School in Fontainebleau, France, and also at schools and festivals in New York state. As Langrish told Caroline Horn in Bookseller, "I love fairy stories. People call them escapist but they deal with severities, with death, and with whether or not a child can be successful in this world. So many start with someone who is disadvantaged but they still succeed."

In writing Troll Fell and Troll Mill Langrish was inspired by the folklore and legends of Scandinavia. In Troll Fell readers meet young Peer Ulfsson, has recently lost his father. A stranger soon comes to Peer's village, a gigantic, frightening figure who turns out to be Baldur, Peer's uncle by marriage. Uncle Baldur is also part troll. After claiming all Peer's belongings, Baldur takes the boy back to his home in an old mill at the foot of a trolls' mountain. There, Peer becomes a servant to Baldur and his hideous twin brother, Grim. Despite his miserable predicament, Peer finds companionship with Nis, the spirit who lives in the mill's barn, and a neighbor girl named Hilde. After a time, Peer learns that his troll-uncles intend to present him as a wedding gift to the son of the troll-king, an act that will make Peer a slave to the newlyweds. While bribing the king, Baldur and Grim also scheme to confiscate property rightfully owned by Hilde's family. Peer and Hilde now team up, hopeful that they can thwart the plans of the hideous twins; the adventures they encounter in doing so take them straight into the center of the troll kingdom.

Reviewing Troll Fell for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Elizabeth Hand called it an "utterly charming, captivating debut." Elements of traditional Scandinavian storytelling and myth blend with a stirring adventure story that Langrish recounts "at breakneck speed," according to Hand. The critic compared Troll Fell favorably to the "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling, stating that "in tone and warmth of characterization," the series is also reminiscent of Lloyd Alexander's classic "Prydain Chronicles." A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that, although Troll Fell employs many familiar elements, Langrish's "clearly delineated, memorable characters transcend stereotype." Writing in School Library Journal, Bruce Anne Shook also praised the novel, predicting that readers will not only "love to hate" the horrible twin uncles, but will also enjoy the "great fun" of Langrish's story, especially the "nice twist at the conclusion."

Peer's adventures continue in Troll Mill, which takes place three years after Troll Fell and finds Peer now living as part of Hilde's family. The family grows even larger when Hilde's compassionate parents Ralf and Gudrun take in the web-footed half-selkie child of a local man whose wife was destined to return to the sea. This adoption, as well as Peer's concerns over strange goings-on at his uncles' mill, soon stirs up some otherworldly activity. Peer's worries over the return of Grim and Baldur are ultimately realized in a novel that Farida S. Dowler deemed "tightly woven" in her Booklist review. Viewing Troll Mill as a coming-of-age novel, a Kirkus Reviews writer noted that Langrish weaves into her plot the "struggles with identity, disillusionment and unrequited love" endured by the fifteen-year-old Peer, whose feelings toward Hilde have moved from friendship to romantic love. In her Kliatt review, Michele Winship wrote that "Langrish's description of the mill and its various inhabitants is especially chilling," while Dowler maintained that Troll Mill's "conclusion is poignant and true, with enough open-endedness for another sequel."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2004, John Peters, review of Troll Fell, p. 1457; February 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Troll Mill, p. 49.

Bookseller, April 16, 2004, Caroline Horn, review of Troll Fell, p. 30.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March, 2006, Elizabeth Bush, review of Troll Mill, p. 317.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2004, review of Troll Fell, p. 538; February 1, 2006, review of Troll Mill, p. 133.

Kliatt, January, 2006, Michele Winship, review of Troll Mill, p. 10.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August, 2004, Elizabeth Hand, review of Troll Fell, p. 35.

School Library Journal, July, 2004, Bruce Anne Shook, review of Troll Fell, p. 106; March, 2006, Farinda S. Dowler, review of Troll Mill, p. 226.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2006, Leslie McCoombs, review of Troll Mill, p. 500.