Overview

New tellings of half-forgotten tales from England's 39 historic counties - from the hit podcast Three Ravens. Do you know the legends of the giants who ruled England before the first human kings? What about the demon dog Black Shuck who terrorized sixteenth-century Norfolk? Or the many times the Devil has tried to get his way before being outwitted by everyday people? England's historic counties are overflowing with folklore, and this collection of 39 stories from the hit podcast Three Ravens reimagines dozens of classic tales in surprising, spooky, and often hilarious ways. Including tales of ghosts, mermaids, crafty witches, mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends and more, the stories span centuries and styles. Do you know the legends of the giants who ruled England before the first human kings? What about the demon dog Black Shuck who terrorised sixteenthth-century Norfolk? Or the many times the Devil has tried to get his way before being outwitted by everyday people? AUTHORS: Eleanor and Martin are the hosts of the Three Ravens Podcast. They are a couple who are both award-winning writers, Eleanor winning the Dead Cat Poetry Prize in 2019 and Martin winning the BBC Moo! New Writers Prize in 2009. They have also written and toured original theatre. They both hold MAs (Eleanor's in Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama from Kings College and Shakespeare's Globe, Martin's in Romantic and Victorian Literature and Culture from Goldsmiths).

Full Product Details

9781803999685

Table of Contents

Reviews

'The ghosts of M R James and Terry Pratchett haunt these stories… an exuberant mix of folklore, legend, history and landscape, with shudders and chuckles served up in equal measure, underpinned by deep knowledge of the material.' -- Hugh Lupton 'A veritable travelogue of folk tales and legends of England to shorten the road, filled with charm, fun, heartache & mischief.' -- Taffy Thomas MBE, first UK Storyteller Laureate 'The Three Ravens banner is a guarantee of solid research, entertaining prose, and the perfect mix of fun and danger, putting the reader in mind of the best who came before: Roald Dahl, Angela Carter, and now … Three Ravens.' -- Mark Norman 'This tour of the traditional tales of English counties demonstrates that folklore is the past, present and future rock'n'roll.' -- James Wright 'Eleanor and Martin are masters of the spoken word. Their popularity in storytelling is evident. But it is now apparent that their words are equally important in the pages of books. Whether you listen to their podcast or nor doesn’t matter as their words will paint pictures in your mind of ghosts, dragons, mermaids and other realms.The stories are unlike anything I’ve read before. They are unique, historically jam-packed reimagining’s of English folk tales. Some are in the style of Victorian ghost story masters like A N L Munby or M R James while others are in the style of Thomas Hardy or Emily Brontë. But they are all original and entertaining. This collection is vibrant, elegant and beautiful. I cannot recommend it highly enough.' -- Adam Bushnell

'The ghosts of M R James and Terry Pratchett haunt these stories… an exuberant mix of folklore, legend, history and landscape, with shudders and chuckles served up in equal measure, underpinned by deep knowledge of the material.' -- Hugh Lupton 'A veritable travelogue of folk tales and legends of England to shorten the road, filled with charm, fun, heartache & mischief.' -- Taffy Thomas MBE, first UK Storyteller Laureate 'The Three Ravens banner is a guarantee of solid research, entertaining prose, and the perfect mix of fun and danger, putting the reader in mind of the best who came before: Roald Dahl, Angela Carter, and now … Three Ravens.' -- Mark Norman 'This tour of the traditional tales of English counties demonstrates that folklore is the past, present and future rock'n'roll.' -- James Wright 'Eleanor and Martin are masters of the spoken word. Their popularity in storytelling is evident. But it is now apparent that their words are equally important in the pages of books. Whether you listen to their podcast or nor doesn’t matter as their words will paint pictures in your mind of ghosts, dragons, mermaids and other realms.The stories are unlike anything I’ve read before. They are unique, historically jam-packed reimagining’s of English folk tales. Some are in the style of Victorian ghost story masters like A N L Munby or M R James while others are in the style of Thomas Hardy or Emily Brontë. But they are all original and entertaining. This collection is vibrant, elegant and beautiful. I cannot recommend it highly enough.' -- Adam Bushnell 'This book is a delight to read. Thirty-nine folktales from around England are retold with a touch of mischief and lots of love for the richness of the stories. Thankfully, each tale has a well-informed introduction to set the scene and inspire the imagination.' -- Owen Davies, Vice President of Folklore Society and author 'Think of these folktales not as definitive legends, but rather cheeky remixes that draw from the full breadth of folklore around England. The provided commentary highlights where a motif from one tale appears in another, but the resulting tale will still manage to both entertain and delight you. Fabulous folklore, indeed!' -- Icy Sedgwick author, folklorist, researcher and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. ‘Delightfully offbeat and always engaging, this collection of folk tales offers new perspectives on both familiar and forgotten stories. Perfect for folklore fans and anyone who wants to add a bit of magic to their day.’ -- Heather Fawcett Sunday Times best-selling author of 'Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries' 'Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux have uncovered many neglected folktales from the full geographical range of England, here thrillingly and compellingly re-told by two brilliant podcasters who have done much to popularise English folklore. These are traditional tales, but they are as timeless and significant today as they were centuries ago.’ -- Dr Francis Young folklorist and author

'The ghosts of M R James and Terry Pratchett haunt these stories… an exuberant mix of folklore, legend, history and landscape, with shudders and chuckles served up in equal measure, underpinned by deep knowledge of the material.' -- Hugh Lupton 'A veritable travelogue of folk tales and legends of England to shorten the road, filled with charm, fun, heartache & mischief.' -- Taffy Thomas MBE, first UK Storyteller Laureate 'The Three Ravens banner is a guarantee of solid research, entertaining prose, and the perfect mix of fun and danger, putting the reader in mind of the best who came before: Roald Dahl, Angela Carter, and now … Three Ravens.' -- Mark Norman

Author Information

Eleanor and Martin are the hosts of the Three Ravens Podcast. They are a couple who are both award-winning writers, Eleanor winning the Dead Cat Poetry Prize in 2019 and Martin winning the BBC Moo! New Writers Prize in 2009. They have also written and toured original theatre. They both hold MAs (Eleanor’s in Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama from Kings College and Shakespeare’s Globe, Martin’s in Romantic and Victorian Literature and Culture from Goldsmiths).

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