The Magic Code. The Use of Magical Patterns in Fantasy for Children. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1988. 163 pp., bibl. (Studies published by the Swedish Institute for Children's Books no 31). ISBN 91-22-01200-1. ISSN 0347-5387.

This is my doctoral dissertation and my first serious scholarly work. Some people tell me that they still find it useful, although I have certainly moved further on now. But many students find it helpful as a practical toolkit for analysis of fantasy novels.

It is a structuralist study, in which I discuss the various patterns of magic and their functions in works of children's fantasy, mainly 20th-century British, all in all about 250 texts. I focus on four areas: the magic space, the magic time, the passage between the everyday and the magical world, and the impact of this passage. I also made wide use of Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope, which was not as well-known then as it is now.

This book is out of print. I have some copies at home that I will be pleased to send, preferably to a library, at postage cost.