The Snow Queen (Kernaghan novel)

The Snow Queen
On a snowy night, a reindeer draws a sleigh carrying a white-clad woman. A castle is seen in the background.
AuthorEileen Kernaghan
Cover artistCharles Robinson
PublisherThistledown Press
Publication date
May 2000
ISBN978-1-894345-14-9
OCLC1162809041

The Snow Queen is a 2000 speculative fiction novel by Canadian writer Eileen Kernaghan. It follows Gerda, a young Danish woman who sets out to the north to rescue her childhood friend Kai from Madame Aurore, a magician known as the Snow Queen. She is joined on her journey by a young Sámi woman, Ritva, the daughter to a shamaness and a robber. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" (1844), the novel incorporates elements of Scandinavian shamanism and mythology, much of it derived from the epic poem the Kalevala (1835). It also explores feminist themes, reinterpreting several plot elements from Andersen's original with contemporary shifts. The Snow Queen was published by Thistledown Press and received mostly positive reviews. The novel received the Aurora Award for Best Novel and was nominated for an Endeavour Award in 2001.