Laura Carroll

Laura Carroll (sometimes called "Laurie") is one of the five protagonists of The Secret Country.

Laura has long, straight, pale brown hair (at the beginning of The Secret Country, it is revealed that it was never cut and takes "forever to wash") and blue eyes. During the events of The Secret Country, she is 11 years old. She is clumsy and shy, with many fears -- including of strangers and horses -- although at one point she claims that her greatest fear is having to use a telephone.

At home
Laura's brother is Ted; Ruth, Patrick, and Ellen are their cousins.

Another set of cousins she and Ted share are the Barretts (whose house they are staying in at the beginning of The Secret Country); these are Katie, David, Jennifer, and Tommy. Those cousins' parents (Laura and Ted's aunt and uncle) are Kathy and Jim.

In the Secret Country
In the Secret Country, Princess Laura has one sister (with whom she shares a room in High Castle): Princess Ellen. They are daughters of Lord Conrad, nieces of Conrad's brother Lord Randolph, and cousins to Princes Edward and Patrick. They are related by blood to Lady Ruth, but the Secret Country no longer considers them related, as Ruth gave up her family relationships when she began studying the magic of the Green Caves.

Comparing Laura Carroll and Princess Laura

 * Laura Carroll has played a beggar child, as well as Princess Laura, in the game version of the Secret Country.
 * At one point, Ted remarks that the character of Princess Laura in the Secret game is "busy with her music," and unicorns later tell Laura that she must play the Flute of Cedric. Laura Carroll does not seem to be musical at home.
 * Princess Laura "can ride better than any of the other [children]," loves horses, and is "remarkably light of foot" (she is "the best dancer in six kingdoms"). Laura Carroll cannot ride, is in fact very afraid of horses, and is extremely clumsy: The Secret Country begins with a long list of items she has broken in the Barrett cousins' house.