Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway

Theodor Kittelsen's "Trollskab" is a collection of macabre and magical folklore from the "godfather" of the Norwegian troll. It features nisses, hulders, fossegrims, and trolls, and was first published in 1892. Kittelsen's stories reveal a Nordic world of wonder, myth, and magic.

Format: Hardback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 21 June 2022
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Across the vast expanse of the sprawling mountain heath, the mighty forest looms, its untamed wilderness beckoning the child within us. Here, in the heart of this enchanting realm, the Hidden Folk gather: the sturdy little nisse, mischievous farmyard spirit and incorrigible prankster; the alluring hulder, adorned with a crown of flowers and a cows tail; the fiddling fossegrim, summoning the music of wind and water; and, most fearsome and enchanting of all, the one-eyed troll, towering above the treetops with its head held high. This book, originally published as Troldskab in 1892, weaves tales of wonder around creatures rumored to haunt the fields, forests, and waterfalls of Norway. As witches, gnomes, and sea monsters stride, gambol, and slither across these pages, fiery dragons awaken from their stiff-winged slumber, mermaids rise from the depths, and the sly, shapeshifting nøkk emerge. Yet, above all, the trolls take center stage, their hapless, horrifying, or simply silly nature causing terror and delight to the presumed human reader. Artist Theodor Kittelsen, renowned for his late nineteenth-century paintings and illustrations, breathed life into these macabre and magical figures, giving them their enduring forms. In this enchanting collection, first published in English as The Troll Book in 1983, Kittelsen spins tales of enchantment around these legendary creatures. Through the skilled translation of Tiina Nunnally, Kittelsen's stories transport us to a Nordic world of wonder, myth, and magic, as real as the imagination allows.

Dimension: 203 x 229 x 51 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517911393