The Three Ravens Folk Tales: New tellings of half-forgotten stories from England's 39 Historic Counties

by Eleanor Conlon, Martin Vaux

'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

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. Filled with tales of ghosts, mermaids, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends and more, The Three Ravens Folk Tales spans centuries, styles, tones and narrators, making it perfect for bedtimes, reading by torchlight, or curling up on the sofa to enjoy with a mug of something hot.

Genres: Folklore

Hardcover

Published December 16, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of folk tales; thirty-nine in all, one for each of the historic counties of England (that is, before the local government reorganization of 1974). It’s actually based on a podcast of the same name. This sort of makes sense as a number of them felt like they would be better spoken than read. They are folk tales that have been modified, sometimes updated and although many are centuries old they do feel modern.
There are ghosts, mermaids, witches, boggarts, large dogs and the fae. The Devil pops up a few times, but this is a very incarnate devil who can be fooled, is susceptible to guile and likes to gamble. There are some historical tales that have taken on some folkloric influences, including one about Hereward the Wake and one about Dick Whittington. The cat in Dick Whittington here is definitely not a pantomime one.
Ultimately these are good fun and easy to read and do give a good overview of a part of the English folklore tradition.

[Mark Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Three Ravens is a podcast where the hosts discuss the folklore of British historical counties,
and tell their own stories based on some of these legends. They have selected one of these tales from each county and compiled them in this book.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of story included here. The first is a straightforward retelling of the folk myth in question, whereas the other takes an original legend and re-interprets it for a modern audience, whilst crucially retaining its spirit and feel. This second approach may alienate those with a more academic interest in folk traditions, of course, but, to my mind, these revisions are in the great storytelling tradition, where tales are reframed over the centuries depending on the times in which they are told.

Getting to the stories; some are chilling, some are funny, some are surprisingly tragic and moving. It’s a testament to the talent of these two writers, who write individually rather than collaborating, that all these stories, with their different tones, land equally well. My favourites were Conlon’s ‘A Cuckoo in Winter’ from Wiltshire and ‘The Lantern Men’ from Huntingdonshire, and co-author Martin Vaux’s ‘Herne the Hunter’ from Berkshire and ‘The Legend of a Cat, and by your allowance, his Earnest Friend Richard, Latterly of Whittington’ from Shropshire, a highly amusing spin on the Dick Whittington story, which gives all the credit (if that’s the right word) to his feline companion.

The writing is top quality throughout and it really manages to capture the feel of sitting in the nook by a pub fireplace in the middle of winter listening to an old man spinning a tale while he puffs on a long, curved clay pipe. It all feels very authentic whilst also managing to filter that experience through a modern lens and sensibilities.

I believe that lovers of weird and fantasy fiction would get a lot out of this and it could well spark an interest in folklore if the reader doesn’t already have one.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is based on the authors' podcast, and I think that might be a better format for these stories, since the authors are oral storytellers by profession. For me, most of these adaptations of local folk tales fall between two stools. They don't provide reliable information about the folk tradition, because disparate tropes have been mashed together from unrelated strands of that tradition; and they don't reimagine the stories thoroughly enough to shed any interesting new light on them or on the modern world. In some cases they have at least been updated to reflect modern values on how we define and treat the Other, but not always. Early on there is a shockingly casual treatment of a witch-burning, for instance, with the witch portrayed as in the wrong and deserving her fate.

[Tammi Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book ! Eleanor and Martin's retellings of these folk tales made them come to life for me ! Some were vaguely familiar as my Grandmother was from Liverpool, and others were brand new to me.
I 1st found out about Three Ravens on their podcast and got to hear them actually telling the stories, which was a truly wonderful and immersive experience and I'm so happy that they wrote a book with their stories !
Now I just have to figure out how to get to England someday so that I can visit some of the amazing counties that they've talked about ♡

[Heather Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It's an entertaining collection of folktale retellings, some creepy, some funny, some just plain weird, and I loved how they were all tethered to specific counties. Here's my official blurb:

"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."

[DJR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to these 39 stories (and more) on the Three Ravens podcast. They are excellent! Some include humour; others are sad or scary—but all are worth reading (or hearing). Because I already know the stories, I am really looking forward to buying the book for my shelves. Highly recommended!

[Emily Treece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and carefully researched re-tellings of folk tales from each of England's historic counties. Some are scary, some are funny, but they are all gorgeous!

[Cathy Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! I’m a huge fan of the podcast and now these writings! we need more!