In Hollow Lands,
Published by Hodder Children’s Books, UK and Australia, 2004
In the Brittany of the 14th century, in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, twelve year old twins, Tiphaine and Gromer de Raguenel, are abducted into the dangerous, magical world of the korrigans, Breton fairies of great power. They are taken into two different, and rival, korrigan realms: Gromer soon succumbs to the spellbinding of the korrigans, but Tiphaine, despite being transformed into a loathsome bird-hag, fights them with all her mind and heart, through five long years of imprisonment in the korrigans’ world. Will she succeed in breaking the enchantment and freeing her brother as well? Meanwhile, in the human world, her old nurse, Viviane the Watcher, and her faithful bird familiar, Estik the nightingale, search tirelessly for her lost charges..and two young soldiers, Breton hedge-squire Bertrand du Gwezklen and Welsh-English mercenary, Wat Davies, also get caught up in the search, and become instrumental to the twins’ bid for freedom..
Reviews:
‘A blend of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady, Breton folk-lore and medieval history, what beguiles in this book is Masson’s seductive vision of faerie worlds, and her understanding that what really matters, for adults and children, is not looks but trust. A tale of real talent and charm, it is challenging as well as consoling.’ Amanda Craig, The Times (UK)
‘..A story satisfying on many levels..the magical Viviane, with her bird familiars and the whimsical pantheon of the korrigans should be enough to please those with an appetite for fantasy, while the remarkably human side of all the characters should hold those who do not usually read fantasy.. Although it’s still foolishly early in the year to make such predictions, Sophie Masson’s In Hollow Lands will probably prove to be one of the richest literary feasts in 2004 for younger teenage readers. For anyone interested in the intellectual exercise of the melding of Masson’s passions, this book also has much to offer.’ Ronni Phillips, The Canberra Times
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