Seven Miles of Steel Thistles is a collection of essays on fairy tales, folk tales and ballads by novelist and blogger writer Katherine Langrish. It is the first non-fiction title by Langrish, whose popular blog of the same name, where she discusses folklore and fantasy from an academic perspective, is regularly visited by readers from the United States to Japan and to date has around a quarter of a million page views. She writes with a light and graceful touch, following in the tradition of scholars like Katherine Briggs and Jacqueline Simpson.The essays in this edition reflect upon the role of women in fairy tales, discuss specific tales such as Briar Rose and The Juniper Tree, and look at wider themes including the significance of white ladies, water spirits and fairy brides amongst others.