Astrid Lindgren

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter.

Lindgren wrote three children's books in the genre of fantasy: Mio, min Mio (1954; Mio, my Son), Bröderna Lejonhjärta (1973; The Brothers Lionheart), and Ronja Rövardotter (1981; Ronia the Robber's Daughter). The first two novels might be caracterized as stories of fantasy reminiscent of The Hobbit, where the heroes return home after a perilous adventure. And the latter, Ronia the Robber's Daughter, has been described as a work reminding of the genre High fantasy.

In the late 1940s, when J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit was translated to Swedish as Hompen, Lindgren was responsible for the department of Children's literature at Rabén & Sjögren (the publishers of the translation).

However, apparently the works of Tolkien did not have a direct influence on Lindgren's own works. While she has been attributed saying that Tolkien had a great impact on her work, other informed sources claim that Lindgren in several interviews denied any influence by Tolkien and that she had not even read The Lord of the Rings.