The Watkins Book of English Folktales

Praise

“A treasure-trove of living stories, and enormously fun to read. Enjoy!” – Neil Gaiman

“Shivery, creepy, melancholy, funny, fantastic and very real … Neil Philip’s classic collection offers us an overflowing cauldron of marvellous stories.’ – Marina Warner

“Collections of folktales as good as this should be bound in gold and brought out on ceremonial occasions as national treasures.” – Philip Pullman

“The generally admitted and admired glories of English literature rest on a much more neglected popular tradition of story-telling. This collection brings that tradition back to life, in a wonderfully accessible form.” – Professor Ronald Hutton

‘A book that inspires and informs, and opens hearts and minds to our story heritage.’ – Professor Carolyne Larrington

“A profound influence on me and Hookland.” – David Southwell

“This is the best collection of English folktales.” – Professor Diane Purkiss

“A superb anthology of more than one hundred extraordinary tales that reveal the exquisite nature of the English storytelling tradition. This is a dazzling book.” – Professor Jack Zipes

“Never was a better time for such a knowing, appreciative volume of our shared tales.” – Gregory Maguire

“An expertly chosen selection of English folktales that is highly readable, endlessly entertaining, and intellectually enlivened. If by some mysterious goblin’s spell I was condemned to give away all the books in my library but one, this is undoubtedly the book I would keep.” – Professor Andrew Teverson

“Buckle up and prepare for close encounters with ghouls and boggarts, witches and merry-maids, talking cats and roaring bulls.” – Professor Maria Tatar

“A truly beautiful collection of over one hundred English stories . . . collated with true wonder and love for the magic of storytelling.” – LoveReading, starred book