The Prodigal Troll
by Charles Coleman Finlay

Description:
A hysterical and moving tale of a human child raised by a band of mythological creatures.

When Lord Gruethrist's castle is laid under siege by an invading baron, he sends a trusted knight and nursemaid off with his infant son Claye. But as the Lord's domain falls into the hands of the invaders, the pair find themselves with nowhere to turn and soon run out of options.

Following their demise, the infant Claye is found by a grieving female troll. Having lost her baby daughter, she adopts the human child as her own. Christened "Maggot" by a hostile stepfather, the boy grows up amid the crude but democratic trolls, before finally leaving their tribe to discover the world of humankind.

But the human world is a complex and capricious place, and Maggot must master its strange ways if he is to survive, let alone win the heart and hand of Lady Portia. Finlay crafts a believable society of magical creatures, and his medieval matriarchy, pitted against an analog of Native American tribesmen, provides a rich setting for many poignant social and political insights.