Traditional or cultural fiction and true stories, tales and retellings
Laitman Kabbalah Publishers Juntos por siempre
£10.84
Global Books Olonkho: Nurgun Botur the Swift
Book SynopsisOlonkho is the general name for the entire Yakut heroic epic that consists of many long legends – one of the longest being ‘Nurgun Botur the Swift’ consisting of some 36,000 lines of verse, published here. Like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Finnish Kalevala, the Buryat Geser, and the Kirghiz Manas, the Yakut Olonkho is an epic of a very ancient origin dating back to the period – possibly as early as the eighth or ninth centuries – when the ancestors of the present-day Yakut peoples lived on their former homeland and closely communicated with the Turkic and Mongolian peoples living in the Altay and Sayan regions. As with all Olonkho stories the hero – in this story Nurgun Botur the Swift – and his tribe are heaven-born, hence his people are referred to as ‘Aiyy kin’ (the deity’s relatives). Naturally, too, on account of his vital role (in saving his people from destruction and oblivion by evil, many-legged, fire-breathing, one-armed, one legged Cyclops-type monsters – the Devil’s relatives representing all possible sins), he is depicted not only as strong, but also a handsome, remarkably athletic and incredibly brave and well-built man ‘as swift as an arrow’, but also with an uncontrollable temper when required.Table of ContentsPreface to the English Edition by Vasily Ivanov Foreword by Anna Dybo Olonkho – The Ancient Yakut Epic by Innokenty Pukhov Translating the Olonkho by Alina Nakhodkina Acknowledgements Select Glossary and Commentaries by Alina Nakhodkina Map of Sakha (Yakutia) and Autonomous Areas of Russia List of Translators and Editors OLONKHO – NURGUN BOTUR THE SWIFT Introduction Song l Song 2 Song 3 Song 4 Song 5 Song 6 Song 7 Song 8 Song 9?
£116.85
Ringwood Publishing The Bone on the Beach
Book SynopsisThe Bone on the Beach is a contemporary mystery and ghost story that draws from the Celtic legend of Deirdre of the Sorrows. The narrative deftly switches between the story of Deirdre, the young woman whos death in 2002 is shrouded in mystery, and Meghan, a lawyer on sabbatical, who is drawn into the dark and twisted story surrounding the death some fifteen years later. The complex and dynamic Highland community, which seeks to protect its traditions and secrets as it struggles to come to terms with its history, ties the two narrative strands together. Meghan feels tied to, intrigued and haunted by Deirdre – will she be able to lay old ghosts to rest?
£9.99
Glyndwr Publishing Black Bart Roberts - The Greatest Pirate of Them
Book SynopsisAn entertaining and well-researched volume tracing the highly exciting life of Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart (1682-1722), the Pembrokeshire-born last great pirate whose travels from Britain to America and from the West Indies islands to the African coast caused much fear and gained him much notoriety. 13 black-and-white illustrations and 3 maps.
£11.06
Whittles Publishing The Mountain of Light
Book SynopsisThis is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. It is the legend-story of the mysterious Wanderer, who comes from the North to Striveling (Stirling) and its great Castle Rock, and the tales he tells to the five men and a woman who befriend him there. Who is this Wanderer, who seems ageless, who has profound affinities with animals and birds, who can take on the shape of swans and what is his mission to the South? Who are these friends, whose friendship becomes more, as they begin to realize that they are part of the strange, timeless and mythic destiny of a country older than civilization? What is the meaning of the unearthly love of the Wanderer and the mysterious Bella?
£6.99
Lexus Ltd Quatre Contes Populaires Ecossais: Four Scottish
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Lexus Ltd Cuatro cuentos populares escoceses: Four Scottish
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Luath Press Ltd Brainheart: A Salutation in Rhyme Metrically
Book Synopsis"Brainheart" is a collection of fifty eulogies celebrating great innovators; from politicians and inventors to architects and musicians, all of Scottish heritage. Composed in a style that Paraig calls 'metrical mirror,' the verses emulate heroic verse in a new voice that combines English with Scots in an authentic and engaging manner.
£6.64
CFZ Press Death on Dartmoor
£12.84
University of Exeter Press The Boggart: Folklore, History, Place-names and
Book SynopsisHonourable mention for The American Folklore Society's Wayland D. Hand Prize for outstanding book combining historical and folkloristic methods and materials. Runner up for The Folklore Society's 2022 Katherine Briggs Award for most distinguished contribution to folklore studies. The little-studied and once much-feared boggart is a supernatural being from the north of England. Against the odds it survives today, both in place-names and in fantasy literature—not least the Harry Potter universe. This book pioneers two methods for collecting boggart folklore: first, the use of hundreds of thousands of words on the boggart from newly digitized ephemera; second, about 1,100 contemporary boggart memories from social media surveys and personal interviews relating to the interwar and postwar years. Combining this new data with an interdisciplinary approach involving dialectology, folklore, Victorian history, supernatural history, oral history, place-name studies and sociology, it is possible to reconstruct boggart beliefs, experiences and tales. The boggart was not, as we have been led to believe, a ‘goblin’. Rather, ‘boggart’ was a much more general term encompassing all solitary supernatural beings, from killer mermaids to headless phantoms, from black dogs to shape-changing ghouls. The author shows how in the same period that such beliefs were dying out, folklorists continually misrepresented the boggart, and explores how the modern fantasy boggart was born of these misrepresentations. As well as offering a fresh reading of associated traditions, The Boggart demonstrates some of the ways in which recent advances in digitization can offer rich rewards.Trade ReviewThe amount of focus, lateral thinking and sheer dogged research that has gone into this work is admirable dedication, and leavened by a light touch that makes it intensely readable throughout. -- John Billingsley, Northern EarthIn stories, plays, films and folklore collections [the boggart] became remote from the anarchic and frightening creatures of lonely lanes, deserted houses and bleak moors that the ordinary people of the nineteenth century reported. These are the stories which Young has uncovered in searching digital archives of newspapers and other ephemera, allowing us a much clearer picture of the boggart as a creature of the folk, rather than the folklorist. -- John Rimmer, Magonia ReviewDetailed, scholarly, packed with great tales and interesting speculations, The Boggart is a groundbreaking study that rescues and re-establishes the scary boggart of the 19th century. -- Katherine Langrish, Gramarye...a highly informative monograph on the ‘boggart’...this book sets a benchmark. -- Ian Shiels, Northern History...one would have to struggle to find a comparative analysis of a supernatural being or myth/folklore-related creature that can be compared to the depth and detail presented in the work done by Simon Young. Young’s research successfully manages to empirically outline a myth by tracing the historical, linguistic, and cultural development of a phenomenon. -- Marko Lukić, Oral History SocietyThe Boggart is a brilliant piece of scholarship that brings to life, through a wide-range of research material, the essence of what lurked in the shadows of society. -- Nigel Watson, Fortean TimesThe Boggart is well written, with light touches of humor that make this a compelling and enjoyable read. Given both this and the quality of the research underlying it, the book represents a stellar study of British popular belief that should be seen as an exemplar for future works on similar topics...The Boggart is folklore history at its best, a book that deserves a very wide readership. -- Ethan Doyle White, Reading ReligionThis comprehensive and groundbreaking study will be essential reading for folklorists, historians, social scientists, and others interested in the world of the supernatural, not least in providing an outstanding model for innovative research in these and related fields. -- J. D. A. Widdowson, Tradition TodayThere is a wealth of information here to be drawn in and fully to inform the reader seeking to explore our forebears’ lives as they involved the supernatural both in earnest and in fun, and to understand how beliefs emerged, existed formerly, and are being transformed for the modern age. -- Clive Upton, Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect SocietyBecause Young’s writing style is lively, engaging, and accessible, The Boggart appeals to both scholars and general readers. One does not need to be a folklorist to enjoy reading about this supernatural figure’s development over time and to savor the local legends in which it has a starring role. The range of Young’s research is impressive, and his inclusion of intriguing images and maps adds to the book’s impact. For scholars who are interested in writing books about the development of a particular supernatural figure, this study offers a valuable model. -- Elizabeth Tucker, Journal of Folklore Research Reviews...there should be more studies of this quality on the subject of creatures of folklore, whatever the region concerned. We hope to read more books of this type in the future. -- Guillaume Oudaer, Nouvelle Mythologie ComparéeSimon Young has reclaimed a forgotten supernatural being in all its formless awe. -- Jeremy Harte, FolkloreThis is meticulously and reflectively researched, with rigorous academic argumentation, yet also eminently readable. While covering the wide philosophical and ethical debates surrounding interpreting, collecting and studying folklore generally, it doesn’t fail to pin down the material with ease–from delivering an in-depth study of historical toponymics, to a diagram depicting the 'folk taxonomy of Boggartdom'. A delight in every way. -- Katharine Briggs Award PanelAn immensely comprehensive examination of boggart-lore in a specific part of Northern England he calls “Boggartdom” throughout Victorian times and beyond. … This book should appeal to anyone interested in nineteenth-century supernatural subjects in general or the boggart in particular. -- Taten Shirley * The Incredible Nineteenth Century *Table of ContentsAbbreviations Illustrations and Maps Acknowledgements Preface Part I: Situating the Boggart 1. Boggart Definitions and Sources 2. Boggart Origins 3. Boggart Distribution Part II: Lived Boggart Folklore 4. Boggart Landscapes 5. Boggart Beliefs and Transmission 6. Social Boggarts Part III: The Death and Rebirth of the Boggart 7. Boggart Death 8. The New Boggart Conclusion Appendix: Boggart A–Z Bibliography Index
£47.50
University of Exeter Press The Boggart Sourcebook: Texts and Memories for
Book SynopsisComprising three parts, this book is a companion volume to The Boggart: Folklore, History, Place-Names and Dialect. Part one, ‘Boggart Ephemera’, is a selection of about 40,000 words of nineteenth-century boggart writing (particularly material that is difficult to find in libraries). Part two presents a catalogue of ‘Boggart Names’ (place-names and personal names, totalling over 10,000 words). Finally, part three contains the entire ‘Boggart Census’ – a compendium of ground-breaking grassroots research. This census includes more than a thousand responses, totalling some 80,000 words, from older respondents in the north-west of England, to the question: ‘What is a boggart?’ The Boggart Sourcebook will be of interest to folklorists, historians and dialect scholars. It provides the three corpora on which the innovative monograph, The Boggart, is based.Table of ContentsIntroduction Abbreviations Corpus One: Boggart Ephemera Corpus Two: Boggart Names I) Boggart Place-names II) Boggart Place-names by Landscape Type III) Boggart Place-names by County IV) Boggart Proper Names V) Bibliography to Corpus Two Corpus Three: Boggart Census Lancashire West Riding Cheshire Derbyshire Lincolnshire Rhodesian, Scottish and Other Boggarts Addenda Appendix: Questions and Prompts
£47.50
Short Books Ltd Ice Land
Book SynopsisIce Land is an epic tale of forbidden love infused with the rich history and mythology of Iceland.Trade ReviewNot just a good story, but one of the greatest - beautifully told. * The Times *Tobin combines the sensuality of Angela Carter with a profound feeling for a violent unstable and fascinating landscape... this world pulses with subversion and unexpected passion. * Saturday Telegraph *Tobin's novels are dark and bloody, sensual and mythic. They are also set in a past that, thanks to her skill at inhabiting her characters, seems often more immediate than the world around us... * Observer *A lyrically written epic inspired by the beauty and history of that island, and the rich world of Norse mythology that infuses it... * Sunday Telegraph *Triumphant * Time Out *
£7.99
Archive Publishing The Birds Who Flew Beyond Time
Book SynopsisA retelling of the Sufi parable, "The Conference of the Birds", a poem written in the thirteenth century, in which the birds of the Earth face seven invisible monsters in order to save the world.
£13.49
Archive Publishing Seeding the Wind: The Stellaster Archive Volume 2
Book Synopsis
£11.66
Checkpoint Press THE Awakening of Navi Septa Book Two: The Mountain Mouse
£13.31
Mandrake of Oxford Sacred Mountains: Stories of the Mystic Mountains
Book SynopsisOn the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche What mountains mean to me: in one word, awe-inspiring. Although we can measure them, our minds are incapable of actually grasping the very small or the very large things in nature: neither atomic particles nor astronomical distances. How big is a mountain, how much does it weigh? Our limited minds can only cope with subjective assessments such as how difficult is it to climb, how dangerous would an avalanche be? So the feelings it produces are awe, a little fear, and possibly exhilaration if and when we think that we have conquered the mountain - but in reality we never can. ~ Professor David Hunt All the stories presented in this collection contain shamanic elements, so the obvious starting point is to explain what is meant by this. The term ''shaman'' is a controversial one. Initially employed by early anthropologists to refer to a specific category of magical practitioners from Siberia, the term is now widely used to denote similar practitioners from a variety of cultures around the world. This application of an originally culture-specific term to a more general usage has caused problems with regard to definition, with disagreements among scholars over whether certain features, such as soul flight or possession, or certain types of altered states of consciousness, should or should not be listed among the core characteristics of shamanism (Wilby, 2011, p.252). Introduction What are Mountains for you? Soul Captivation on White Bone Mountain The Magic Brush and the Golden Mountain The Legend of Amirani The Story of Jumping Mouse The Children of Hamelin: A Shamanic Journey into Mount Poppenberg The Crystal Clear Waters of Mount Elbruz The Vision Quest, Mount Sinai, and a Dream Fulfilled Mount Ararat Mount Koya-san, the Hermit''s Cave, and Fujiyama Sacred Towers The Fool on the Hill and the Book of Mysteries The Tobacco of Harisaboqued The Princess of the Tower Appendix: The Baal Shem Tov - Rabbi, Religious Formulator or Shaman?
£13.50
Skylight Press The Romance of the Faery Melusine
Book SynopsisSpringing from the heart of medieval France, The Romance of the Faery Melusine tells the story of Raymondin of Poitiers who accidentally kills his uncle while out hunting, and fleeing deep into the forest, encounters a faery by a fountain. Falling deeply into a mutual soul-love, the faery Melusine agrees to help Raymondin and to become his wife, on condition that he makes no attempt to see her between dusk and dawn each Saturday. On this basis the house of Lusignan thrives and prospers, until a series of treacherous events tempt Raymondin to violate his promise and shatter the magic which holds his faery wife to the human world. First rendered into written form in a text by Jean d'Arras in 1393, the legend of the Faery Melusine is well established in France, where she is credited with having founded the family, town and castle of Lusignan. However, it is very little known in the English-speaking world, despite the fact that Melusine originally hailed from Scotland. This new retelling by Gareth Knight translated from Andre Lebey's 1920s novel Le Roman de la Melusine captures the freshness of Lebey's telling of the legend and brings the benefit of Knight's expertise both in French literature and in the esoteric faery tradition.
£13.00
Luath Press Ltd Scotland the Brave Land: 10,000 Years of Scotland
Book SynopsisFrom bold heroines to clan battles, standing stones to castles, there is hardly any aspect of Scotland’s heritage that does not feature in our storytelling traditions. This collection of stories from all parts of Scotland, and from all periods of our dramatic – and often truly heroic – history is both an introduction to and a journey into Scotland’s rich cultural heritage. Covering the same themes as Disney-Pixar’s new fairytale film, Brave, this book provides the next step for those wishing to delve deeper into Scotland’s culture and traditions.Trade ReviewWith its captivating and often gruesome tales of heroic warriors in battle, bold heroines, deceitful aristocracy, and supernatural creatures this is a journey into the cultural heritage of a nation. SCOTTISH REVIEW OF BOOKS Scotland the Brave exposes the beating heart of Scottish storytelling. EDINBURGH LIFE Sept/Oct 2012 Stuart McHardy’s new collection of tales beautifully renders the mythology that has flourished in the oral tradition, alongise and in response to Scotland’s awe-inspiring natural landscape. EDINBURGH LIFE Sept/Oct 2012
£7.59
Peirene Press Ltd Of Saints and Miracles
Book SynopsisMarcelino lives alone on his parents' farm, set deep in the beautiful but impoverished countryside of northern Spain. It's the place where he grew up, the place where he doted on his beloved baby brother and protected his mother from his father's drunken rages. But when Marcelino's brother tricks him out of his house and land, a moment of anger sparks a chain of events that can't be reversed. Marcelino flees to the wild peaks of rural Asturias, becoming a cult hero as he evades authorities. Into this unconventional crime story, Astur weaves fables about the sun and the moon, tales of death and love, and reveals a community and a way of life that may soon be lost. Of Saints and Miracles is a sensuous and poetic portrayal of an outcast's struggle to survive in a changing world, and a seamless blend of the tragic and the majestic.Trade Review'Meticulous and vivid ... mesmerising.' ASYMPTOTE; 'Ambitious and unpredictable - the best kind of new spin on a timeless story.' WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS; 'An astonishing novel that marks Astur out as a novelist of unique brilliance.' LUNATE; 'Melancholic and somewhat unnerving ... a beautiful book.' EUROPEAN LITERATURE NETWORK; 'A fierce, passionate book - at home in every genre.' PATRICK MCGUINNESS; 'An extraordinary feat of writing.' SOPHIE HUGHES; 'This literary novel has the seal of determined originality, and is the admirable work of an author worth following.' EL CULTURAL;'With a sensuous style that produces an almost physical effect, Astur plays with time, earth, and violence, weaving together a plot that finds its logic in disorder, like every real tragedy.' ABC CULTURAL; 'One of the most exquisite writers of Spanish literature.' THE OBJECTIVE
£11.69
Ragz Books Touched by Darkness
£15.69
Pan Macmillan English Fairy Tales
Book SynopsisFairy tales are written both to entertain and to educate. Published in the shadow of the First World War, F. A. Steel's retellings of forty-one English fairy tales form a classic collection of stories, ranging from the familiar - 'Jack and the Beanstalk', 'Little Red Riding-Hood' and 'The Three Little Pigs' - to the perhaps less well known - 'The Black Bull of Norroway', 'Nix Nought Nothing' and 'The Red Ettin'. Originally published in 1918, it reflects the nationalistic concerns of the period. Steel takes the reader on a journey, from Cornwall to Bamburgh Castle via a palace by the sea, as well as high into the sky, where a giant lives. The magical tales in English Fairy Tales are brought to life by one of the best-known illustrators of the time, Arthur Rackham.Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.
£13.92
Luath Press Ltd The Guga Stone: Lies, Legends and Lunacies from
Book SynopsisPlace one guga [almost fully grown gannet chick] and one stone in a pan of water and boil. Once you can pierce the stone with a fork, the guga is ready for eating…Meet Calum.In 1930, the last remaining St Kildans evacuated their isolated outpost 100 miles off the west coast of Scotland. Calum returns a few years later, alone and troubled, the sole guardian of the islanders’ abandoned homes. Haunted by the memories that linger there, he begins to re-live the experiences of residents long past.Acrobats, airmen, cormorants, cragsmen and angels leap, climb, shimmer and swoop through the pages of The Guga Stone.With subtle humour, Donald S. Murray mixes mythology, fiction and history to recreate St Kilda’s tales and legends for our time.Trade ReviewThis is a wonderfully eclectic collection of poems and prose by a gifted Scottish writer. - THE GUARDIAN
£8.54
Luath Press Ltd Tales of Edinburgh Castle
Book SynopsisEdinburgh Castle is one of Scotland's most awe-inspiring and striking landmarks. A site of human habitation since the 9th century BC, it has a rich and varied history and has been a crucial strategic military site for thousands of years. A new title in the popular 'Luath Storyteller' series, Tales of Edinburgh Castle is a salute tk the ancient tradition of storytelling, painting a vivid picture of the castle in bygone times, and the rich and varied characters to whom it owes its notoriety.Trade Review.
£5.99
Luath Press Ltd Tales of Loch Ness
Book SynopsisThis book helps you explore the myths and legends surrounding one of Scotland's most famous locations. The home of the fabled Loch Ness monster, or Nessie as she is affectionately known, is a favourite tourist spot. Every year thousands flock to her shores hoping for a glimpse of the mysterious creature. But hers is not the only story Loch Ness has to offer. It is home to a wide range of tales that reflect the dramatic history of the Scottish Highlands. Here memories are long and some stories have survived for well over a thousand years. From Irish priests and Pictish kings to tales of clan feuds and great love, faithful warriors and real heroes, Tales of Loch Ness will bring the legends of Scotland to life.Trade Review.
£5.99
Luath Press Ltd Tales of the Picts
Book SynopsisFor many centuries the people of Scotland have told stories of their ancestors, a mysterious tribe called the Picts. This ancient Celtic-speaking people, who fought off the might of the Roman Empire, are perhaps best known for their Symbol Stones – images carved into standing stones left scattered across Scotland, many of which have their own stories. Here for the first time these tales are gathered together with folk memories of bloody battles, chronicles of warriors and priestesses, saints and supernatural beings. From Shetland to the border with England, these ancient memories of Scotland’s original inhabitants have flourished since the nation’s earliest days and now are told afresh, shedding new light on our ancient past.Trade Review.
£5.99
September Publishing Foxfire, Wolfskin: and Other Stories of
Book SynopsisDrawing on myth and fairy tales found across Europe - from Croatia to Sweden, Ireland to Russia - Sharon Blackie brings to life women's remarkable ability to transform themselves in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. These stories are about coming to terms with our animal natures, exploring the ways in which we might renegotiate our fractured relationship with the natural world, and uncovering the wildness - and wilderness - within. Beautifully illustrated by Helen Nicholson, Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women is Blackie's first collection of short stories.Trade Review'A book for all the wild women ... Foxfire, Wolfskin is simply the most perfect thing. I love each and every placement of each word. Love the wildness, the shapeshifting, the fearsomeness of it.' - Jackie Morris | `A deeply evocative and haunting collection . . . Part rally cry, part warning, part manifesto and all parts enchanting, Sharon Blackie's Foxfire, Wolfskin is a deeply evocative and haunting collection. I want to press this powerful book into the hands of everyone I know and say listen.' Holly Ringland | `Sharon Blackie has wrought a new-old magic for our times: glorious, beautiful, passionate myths. They show who we could have been, and they give us a glimpse of a world-that-could-be.' Manda Scott
£14.99
Country Books Land of Hope & Story: A celebration of rural
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Robin Books Grimm's Fairy Tales
Book Synopsis
£24.13
English Heritage These Our Monsters: The English Heritage Book of
Book SynopsisFrom the legends of King Arthur embedded in the rocky splendour of Tintagel to the folklore and mysticism of Stonehenge, English Heritage sites are often closely linked to native English myths. Following on from the bestselling ghost story anthology Eight Ghosts this is a new collection of stories inspired by the legends and tales that swirl through the history of eight different English Heritage sites. With this evocative collection English Heritage brings new voices and fresh creative alchemy to our ancient historical sites and our story-telling heritage. Also contained is essay by James Kidd on the importance of myth to our landscape and our fiction, and an English Heritage survey of sites and associated legends. New legends for modern times; sprung from our ancient lands, stories and stones.Trade Review"An impressive line-up of established and emerging names." - Sunday Times (on Eight Ghosts)
£14.24
Letterpress Publishing The Fragrant Concubine
£15.73
Carn Publishing ltd Folk Tales of Ayrshire
Book Synopsis
£13.30
Neem Tree Press Limited The Book of Perilous Dishes
Book SynopsisHistorical fiction meets fantasy in The Book of Perilous Dishes, a playful tale of dark magic and epic adventure that traverses Europe at the turn of the 18th century. Bucharest. 1798. A year full of intrigue and political machinations. Master chef Silica reigns supreme, sought after by all. His cooking is sublime, satisfying even the sophisticated tastes of the Greek Prince, who steals him from his rightful owner and installs him in his Palace. Little does anyone know that Silica guards the magical Book of Perilous Dishes, filled with recipes with the power to brew potent elixirs of truth, shroud minds in forgetfulness, unveil the future with eerie precision, and provoke bouts of uncontrollable laughter. When 14-year-old Pâtca, steeped in the occult arts, embarks on a mission to recover her family''s recipe book, she discovers her uncle murdered and a map that needs deciphering. As she embarks on an adventure across Romania, France, and Germany, her journey unveils family secrets that unearth history, weave magic, and unite destinies. Written by an award-winning author of contemporary Romanian literature, Doina Rusti, and translated by Bucharest-based English professor, James Christian Brown.
£12.74
Neem Tree Press Limited The Book of Perilous Dishes
Book Synopsis
£11.99
Triarchy Press The Pilgrimage of Piltdown Man
Book Synopsis“Once upon a time…there was the Weald. Much of the Weald was smoke and flame – a place of blast furnaces and molten iron – and the mine pits; still, deep, dark cooling pools, from which would come the hiss of steam when white hot iron was plunged in.And scattered throughout the Wealden forest there were those charcoal burners’ enclosures – the hut and the kiln, the piles of cut limbs and branches, and the solitary, wrinkled charcoal burner.And when the charcoal burner died, as often as not his body rotted away in solitude and there was no-one to miss him, as the forest retook the enclosure – and the hut and the kiln subsided back into the ground. Sometimes bits of body were collected – no-one knew by whom. Someone dark. Someone with a book. Bits of body were fixed together – bits of this, that and the other. Higgledy piggledy wiggledy. A brain animated by a spark of fire from a bloomer – an ancient blast furnace; a clay chimney – or fluxed into awareness and motion by an organism usually associated with rot and decay – the body jerked into some sort of life...”Here begins the story of Link, a cryptid, a knitted-together Piltdown Man, whose pilgrimage takes him up the South Downs, staggering along the A27 and the M27, through Southampton, through Amesbury, past Porton Down, to Glastonbury, Dartmoor, the west of Cornwall and Brittany.Mike O’Leary has been a professional storyteller for 25 years and his post-fairy tale vividly knits together the knuckers, hags, wisht hounds and dragons of folklore with more contemporary concerns of roadkill, hitch-hiking, migration and abuse. The result is a very adult story that investigates the whole idea of story in our lives and in our search for meaning.
£9.50
Quercus Publishing Of Men and Angels
Book Synopsis'Arditti is a master storyteller who uses his theological literacy sparingly to deliver a challenging but enthralling read' GuardianAward-winning, bestselling author Michael Arditti's tenth novel, documenting the history of homophobia and religion.God's vengeance on the wicked city of Sodom is a perennial source of fascination and horror. Michael Arditti's passionate and enthralling new novel explores the enduring power of the myth in five momentous epochs.A young Judean exile transcribes the Acts of Abraham and Lot in ancient Babylon; the Guild of Salters presents a mystery play of Lot's Wife in medieval York; Botticelli paints the Destruction of Sodom for a court in Renaissance Florence; a bereaved rector searches for the Cities of the Plain in nineteenth century Palestine; a closeted gay movie star portrays Lot in a controversial biblical epic in 1980s Hollywood. With its interrelated narratives and interwoven documents, Of Men and Angels is both formally inventive and imaginatively rich. Abounding in characters as vivid as they are varied, from temple prostitutes and palace eunuchs, through fanatical friars and humanist poets, to Bedouin tribesmen, Russian exiles and, of course, angels, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, penetrating insight and profound human sympathy.Trade ReviewAnyone who is afraid that the English novel is sliding into a backwater of domestic anecdote should find their anxieties assuaged by the writing of Michael Arditti * The Times *A Graham Greene for our time * Spectator *Arditti succeeds in creating fiction that is morally serious, moving and intense * Times Literary Supplement *Arditti is a master storyteller who uses his theological literacy sparingly to deliver a challenging but enthralling read * Guardian *
£9.49
Black Wolf Edition & Publishing Ltd ELAZAR
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Black Wolf Edition & Publishing Ltd THE MYSTERIES OF THE ISLAND OF THARA: 2020
Book Synopsis
£5.94
The Indigo Press Pearl: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
Book SynopsisMarianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing. Left behind with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, she clings to the fragmented memories of her mother’s love; the smell of fresh herbs, the games they played, and the songs and stories of her childhood. As time passes, Marianne struggles to adjust, fixated on her mother’s disappearance and the secrets she’s sure her father is keeping from her. Discovering a medieval poem called Pearl and trusting in its promise of consolation, Marianne sets out to make a visual illustration of it, a task that she returns to over and over but somehow never manages to complete. Tormented by an unmarked gravestone in an abandoned chapel and the tidal pull of the river, her childhood home begins to crumble as the past leads her down a path of self-destruction. But can art heal Marianne? And will her own future as a mother help her find peace?Trade ReviewAn interview with author Siân Hughes: ‘the heart of the mystery is this dangerous ground of motherhood’ – Lucy Writers Platform -- Rym Kechacha * Lucy Writers *
£10.79
Fairlight Books The Piano Room
Book SynopsisSandor Esterhazy is descended from a long line of talented pianists, but has no desire to play. So, one snowy afternoon, he promises his soul to the devil in exchange for a life of his own choosing. Afterwards, he laughs it off as a joke, but that night the devil arrives dragging someone - or something - with him. Uncertain what to do with the bewildered creature, Sandor locks it in the basement, allowing it out only once a night to visit the piano room - the creature, who he names Ferdi, is desperate to play. Sandor slips easily into his new role of captor, but as Ferdi learns what it is to be human, tensions between the two escalate, and Ferdi escapes into the world...Trade Review'Like a beautiful melody played on the very edge of hearing, The Piano Room demands your attention while remaining elusive. Utterly captivating' —Lynda Clark, author of 'Dreaming in Quantum and Other Stories'; 'A dark and beautifully written tale, seeped in music, yearning and breathless intrigue' —Edward Vass, author of 'Milton in Purgatory'
£13.49
Design For Today Hansel and Gretel: A Nightmare in Eight Scenes
Book Synopsis
£23.75
Design For Today Beauty & Beast
Book Synopsis
£36.00
Luath Press Ltd Sgiath: Amazon Queen of Skye
Book SynopsisHaving heard and learned stories of Sgiath over the past many years, I felt that the time was right to put them down in print lest they be lost. GEORGE MACPHERSON Long ago in ancient Skye, a queen is born in a storm… From the depths of Scottish folklore emerges Sgiath, an ancient warrior queen of Skye. Also known as Scáthach or Sgathaich, Skye and Dunscaith Castle – her home on the island all those years ago – are said to have been named after her. Follow her incredible journey as she turns from ordinary village girl to leader of a great army of warriors, conquering her opponents and bringing education to all. Magic and myth interweave with history in this epic tale of ancient oral storytelling that is inspirational for our modern times.
£7.59
Aurora Metro Publications Sleeping Beauty
Book Synopsis• Can be performed by schools, colleges, youth theatres etc. • Challenges gender stereotypes, with role reversal. The world spins and the cycle of seasons turns as the Guardians of the Year gather to tell each other stories. As a new Winter begins it is time to tell another tale… A kingdom is in peril, its people driven to flee their homes as a dark forest covers the land. The King and Queen are missing and Prince Roland, only heir to the kingdom, lies sleeping, cursed never to awaken… All seems lost, and it falls to one young woman with a strong heart, aided by strange companions, to find her way to the castle at the heart of the enchanted forest. Once there, it will take a genuine act of love to break the curse and free the kingdom. A story about friendship, drawing on myth and folklore, Sleeping Beauty is an exciting and enchanting new adaptation of the well-loved story. • Large cast playTrade Review“A HEARTWARMING tale of friendship and the power of storytelling... Matt Beames has taken the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty and adapted it for a modern audience.” Southern Daily Echo
£10.44
Graffeg Limited Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow, The
Book SynopsisThis is a new, compact A5 edition of Jackie Morris''s collection of short stories, The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow. A collection of twelve illustrated folk tales, or lullabies for grown-ups, set in a distant world of music, snow and magic. The stories are based around a series of musically-themed illustrations first created by Jackie for ''Help Musicians UK''.
£13.49
Markosia Enterprises Ltd King Kong of Skull Island: The Wall: 2
Book Synopsis
£18.99
Scribe Publications Lux: a novel
Book SynopsisKing David spies on beautiful Bathsheba as she bathes and his desire drives him to acts of such callousness that even his god turns away from him. Only through searching penitence and the psalms that express this can he find him way back into the light. A world and centuries away, King Henry VIII looks up at his prized tapestries of David and Bathsheba and sees in David a mighty predecessor, defender of the faith. Henry’s courtier-poet, Sir Thomas Wyatt, sees instead two kings who take what they want, careless of the lives they destroy in the process — David’s lust led him to murder, while Henry is ruthless in his pursuit of Ann Boleyn and the son she has promised him … more ruthless still when she fails to provide an heir. Wyatt too, once dangerously close to Ann himself, is caught in the slipstream of wilful power. David’s psalms of penitence reach across the years to touch and speak to him directly. Shackled in a cell in the Tower of London, not expecting to get out alive, he thinks of his beloved falcon Lukkes, and wishes he too could fly. Lux weaves past and present into a story of love and its reach, fidelity and faith, power and poetry, for readers of Marilynne Robinson, Anne Carson, and Hilary Mantel.Trade Review‘This book is a spell. Cook’s retelling of these old stories is masterful, immersive, lyrical, and psychologically profound. With the deftest of touches, she illuminates these well-known figures, David, Bathsheba, Thomas Wyatt, and makes them shine anew.’ -- Madeline Miller, author of Circe‘Hugely ambitious and very beautiful.’ * BBC Radio 4’s, Saturday Review *‘Cook writes with impressive empathy … There is both a painterly eye and a physicality about her prose.’ -- Diana Hendry * The Spectator *‘Cook’s account of an Old Testament repentance is a full-throated one.’ -- Elizabeth Buchan * Daily Mail *‘Intelligence, originality, and poetic grace … Ms. Cook reflects on the momentous change by tenderly humanising all of these larger-than-life characters. Her portrayal of Bathsheba is both more compassionate and more convincing than the usual caricature of a power-hungry seductress. Her David, too, is remarkably approachable … Again and again in this discerning novel, sin and suffering culminate in a majestic work of humility and praise.’ -- Sam Sacks * The Wall Street Journal *‘Lux emerges as an unusual and accomplished page turner. It’s ambitious, incredibly detailed … the clarity and beauty of the prose is a joy. An overwhelming sense of destiny is palpable and defining.’ -- Kevin O’Sullivan * Irish Examiner *‘Elizabeth Cook’s visual imagination is as sharp and gorgeous as any Pre-Raphaelite painter’s. Her psychological penetration is deep and compassionate. They are both unfailing as she weaves together the stories of King David and Bathsheba and of Thomas Wyatt and Ann Boleyn. If this is, in a way, a tour de force, it doesn’t read like that: the connections are organic and realistic, gripping the reader and integral to the rapid movement of the narrative.’ -- John Drury, author of Music at Midnight‘Almost two decades in the making, Lux is well worth the wait. Like its predecessor Achilles, it’s an ambitious and compelling novel, equally vivid in its conjuring of myth and history, particularly striking in its portrayal of religious belief under pressure, the nature of holiness and the sacred. It’s a remarkable book.’ -- Michael Symmons Roberts, author of Drysalter‘Cook’s multilayered prose is rich, luminous, and pays particular attention to the perspectives of women, all but ignored in the original David story.’ -- Alastair Mabbott * The Herald *‘Cook’s quietly masterful prose builds a huge world, unsentimental, numinous and deeply moving. Longing, appetite, love, grief, regret, and their consequences: Lux, Wyatt's falcon, is named for the luxury of courts and concupiscence but also the light of the desert, of song, of David’s Yahweh. This novel is a joy to read.’ -- Susan Hitch‘An ambitious attempt to yoke together two narratives separated in time but not in their timeless resonances.’ -- Howard Cooper * Jewish Chronicle *‘A well-told thinker of a read.’ -- Jon Wise * Weekend Sport *‘In her second novel, Elizabeth Cook has followed her own passions … to good effect. Her command of language, and of her material, makes this an extremely satisfying read.’ * Anne Goodwin *‘Lux is a remarkable interweaving of one ancient king’s story and his place as redeemer within and beyond Judaism.’ -- Rabbi Dr Aviva Kipen * J-Wire *‘Cook writes beautiful and complicated prose, befitting of the subjects she chooses … Informed by the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition without being subject to it, here is the rare book that functions on multiple levels, inspiring new ideas and insights with each re-reading … The most powerful chapters of Lux are those spent with women … Cook plucks these hollowed-out characters from Samuel and imbues them with souls. She circles the Bible story of David and Bathsheba, plumbs its depths and breathes life into it, creating the type of mannered, academic leaning novel that the English seem to adore … But press down firmly on the cover and the words, regardless of how beautiful they are, will flow out its sides like water from a sponge.’ -- Tara Cheesman * On the Seawall *
£9.49
Whitefox Publishing Ltd Otherwise: Five Myths of Transformation Told in
Book SynopsisIn this original and compelling collection, Nicoletta Arbia summons the voices of five classical women to recount their intimate stories, charting each woman's journey of renewal and personal growth. In retelling the stories of Persephone, Eurydice, Ariadne, Cassandra and Psyche, Arbia invites us to explore the puzzle of relationships and the pitfalls of vocation. Drawing on her long-standing interest in psychology, dreams, alchemy and spirituality, we hear each woman's story from her own point of view. We are taken on a passionate adventure in search of evolving consciousness, encompassing struggles with hidden Gods and the ravages of war; the resilience of the soul and the teachings of death; the challenges of coming of age and the lifelong task of balancing the feminine and masculine sides of our nature. This is a voice of wisdom that speaks vividly to us during difficult, transitional times. 'Quirky, original and drawn from a deep well of intuition and compassion.' John GlendayTrade Review'Quirky, original and drawn from a deep well of intuition and compassion.' John Glenday
£10.00
Greatness University Publishers Dinosaurs in Love
Book Synopsis
£11.25
