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Folk Keeper

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The Folk Keeper Submitted 6/15/01

Corinna Stonewall is a Folk Keeper. That is, in the strange and beautiful world of Ms. Billingsley's book, it is her job to lurk in the dark, cavernous underground Cellar distracting and pacifying the hideous Folk, creatures described by another Keeper as "mostly wet mouth and teeth." The Folk are constantly angry and ravenous-- never a good combination-- and they have the power to ruin crops, spoil milk, rot eggs and meat and cause animals to sicken and die. Any estate or village, therefore, desperately needs their Folk Keeper, and Corinna knows this well. Whereas anywhere else in the village she would merely be a slave or laborer, as Folk Keeper she has power and she knows it: "here in the Cellar, I control the Folk. Here, I'm queen of the world."

Perhaps like all queens, Corinna has secrets, not the least of which is that she is pretending to be a boy, for no female can be Folk Keeper. As Corin the Keeper of the Folk, she can spend long hours away from people, which allows her to keep her other secrets well hidden. Secrets like how she is never cold, how she always knows the exact time, as if a clock were running through her veins, and how her hair grows two inches every night as she sleeps.

Some of these secrets are threatened when old, dying Lord Merton comes to her, and fetches her away to his vast estate where the lure of the sea and the power of controlling a great many more Folk tempts Corinna to leave her small village. Once there, Corinna must contend with Folk that are far more fierce than those she's used to, a young man named Finian whom she forms a fast but tenuous friendship, and the enigmatic, possibly dangerous Sir Edward, who may be more than he appears.

Told in the form of a diary, the reader follows Corinna through her early stages of a Folk Keeper and how she managed to hide her secrets, to the surprising end where she discovers her true heritage and everything falls into place. Corinna's language is poetic and beautiful, describing everything around her in languid eloquence. Describing a party she attends on Midsummer's Eve, she writes in her journal: "A footman handed me a glass. Tiny lines of bubbles streamed through the pale liquid. The fiddle cried out in a language that everyone but I understood. Like pieces of a kaleidoscope, the ladies and gentlemen fell into patterns of color on the Ballroom floor."

Ms. Billingsley is the author of "Well Wished", a title that won Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal. In "The Folk Keeper", her second work, she has created a beautiful world and fine character in Corinna, one who is immediately likeable in spite of her rough exterior-- perhaps even BECAUSE of it. As female characters go, Corinna is brave and inventive despite all of her stubbornness. She is a strong character in an age where too many female leads are still portrayed as helpless shrinking violets.

As noted, the writing style of "Folk Keeper" is somewhere between prose and poetry--what a friend of mine calls "High English" of the almost Shakespearian sort. Because very few people speak in High English (especially teens & young adults for whom this book is geared toward), some readers-- especially those who are still not masterful at reading yet-- may miss out on the subtleties of the text or become confused. Still, it is a brilliant work and highly recommended.

For those students or readers who find the eloquence of the book difficult, it is available in an unabridged audio format with a masterful performance by Ms. Marian Tomas Griffin. I am a reading teacher and use both audio and text with my upper-grade students when we read this book. Both formats come highly recommended!!

Surely one of the most significant juvenile fantasy novels of the decade, THE FOLK KEEPER is a brilliant novel woven of intricate plot, masterful characterization, and deliciously poetic language. The compelling story of Corinna, a folk keeper who earns her place in society by tending the dangerous and ravenous folk of the underworld, is told in diary format, a device that heightens the immediacy of her search for self as she uncovers her true nature.

This is an essential purchase and a must read!

I was completely absorbed in Corinna's terrifying adventures as "folk keeper" and in figuring out the mystery of her background. What an unusual heroine! What a great setting! What an intriguing premise! What an astounding PLOT! I don't want to spoil the twists and turns for you, but trust me: this book is a flat-out great read.

I used to be a children's librarian---that was a long time ago, but I still love children's books. (The Harry Potter books have just confirmed what we've known all along, that good books appreciated by children will also be appreciated by grownups.)The Folk Keeper is a fantasy set in England. Time period? Perhaps Georgian, perhaps Stuart, perhaps earlier. It's a time where people still have to propitiate the vestiges of an earlier, pagan world, a hungry, non-human, gnomish, fairy world by leaving offerings of food and drink. If these beings are not satisfied, cows will die or cease to give milk; crops will rot in the fields; all matter of unexplainable phenomena will take place and cause havoc. The folk keeper's job is to keep these harmful, always-hungry, excitable creatures at bay. Our heroine, a foundling named Corinna, now disguised as a boy, Corin, keeps the folk at bay at an orphanage. For this, she is respected, if not honored. When the opportunity comes to leave this awful excuse for a home, she hesitates, then goes. It turns out to be her ancestral place, where she will come to grips with her true nature, her forebears, her own other-worldliness, and find a great love. The language is sparse, but poetic, and tough but fey Corinna grows on the reader. Such an unloved little soul, who gradually becomes more beloved than she'd ever imagined. Her ordeals are harsh, but she doesn't despair. This young woman simply does not give up---making this a wonderfully inspirational story for children. I have only one quibble, and I chose to suspend my disbelief because the author writes so exquisitely: I don't think that the stepson in a second marriage could ever have inherited entailed property, much less a title, in England. But it doesn't matter---it's a quibble that will bother only die-hard researchers in English history.

Both my boyfriend and I loved this book. I wish more adults would read some of the amazing children's literature out there. Perhaps after Harry Potter they will. This book had all the elements of a good story: a great page-turner, intriguing characters, and surprising turns in the story. I felt like I was 9 again, under the covers with my flashlight squealing with delight when unexpected and wonderful or unexpected and terrible things happen. Great for readers of almost any age.

Carl Jung would have loved "The Folk Keeper." Corinna is a young, "different" girl coming of age, surviving in a hostile world by taking on a male disguise and a masculine role. Her duties connect her with a mysterious underworld in which she feeds and is fed on by unseen mouths. Eventually love and loyalty pull her apart in several dimensions. What spills out is utterly unexpected, yet strangely familiar. Corinna is not what she thought she was. Are any of us?

This is no children's book -- or else we are all children. -Mark, age 51 1/2

Wonderfully narrated by Marian Tomas Griffin, Franny Billingsley's The Folk Keeper is the imaginative, entertaining, unabridged audiobook story of Corinna who, as Folk Keeper at the Rhysbridge Home, feeds the fierce, dark-dwelling cave Folk and thereby keeping them from souring the milk, killing the chickens, and venting their anger on the neighborhood. Corinna writes everything down in her Folk Record. But since only boys are permitted to be Folk Keepers, she must disguise herself as a boy, and it is a boy and a Folk Keeper she intends to stay. But then the Lord Merton (at whose bidding she became a Folk Keeper) is old and dying, her secret is threatened with exposure. Corinna must face herself, with the powers she has, to discover who she really is, why her hair grows two inches a night, why the sea draws her, what she really wants, and what future she can and will choose. Glowingly recommended for personal, school, and community library audiobook collections, The Folk Keeper is a superbly produced, technically flawless, 4 hour and 47 minute production on three cassettes.

This was a great read! At first it didn't really draw me in, but as I read on it just got better and better! You feel like you are actually interacting with the main character, Corinna, and that you are right next to her as she goes through different situations. The author gives very in-depth and vivd descriptions of the settings and emotions of characters throughout the whole book. A little confusing at times, but otherwise very believable and enjoyable.

I know there are a lot of books about girls pretending to be boys ( like the books by Tamora Pierce), but this one blows them all away, until only The Folk Keeper stands in all its glory on a podium made of gold.
Now, I did not think I would ever read a perfect fantasy book. Either the character is not fully developed or the writing style is boring/cheesy or it is bogged down with romance. After reading The Folk Keeper, I knew I had found the perfect book. Corinna is immediately a lovable character, a character you stand up for, that you know like the back of your hand. The plot is formed out of seemingly magical hands, spinning a tight web about you that you just can't break till the end. The end, I must tell you, is perfect, it is glorious, it gives you shivers on the back of your neck. And it's all because of the author's extraordinary writing style. Each word is perfectly placed, each scene completely vivid in your mind, until Corinna's world seems to be surrounding you on all sides -- until it is part of you, until you are part of it. I will say again: Do not stop with Tamora Pierce, thinking that no one could possibly write another good book about a girl disguised as a boy. Read The Folk Keeper(it is a million times better!!!). Enjoy!

If you like action, adventure, mysterious people and a little romance on the side you will love this novel. It is so exciting you can't put it down.
Corinna is a young girl who pretends to be a boy so she can be a Folk Keeper. Corinna (a.k.a Corin) doesn't like other people. She mostly stays down in her deep, dark cellar keeping all her secrets to herself. Soon a dying old man asks her to be his Folk Keeper and move away from the orphanage. She decides to go to Marblehaugh Park and watch these ravenous Folk. Here we see her vengence, soft side, weaknesses, and loves.
This book is a must read and will keep you wondering until the very end.