Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland

Folk Tales

by Lisa Schneidau

This collection of folk tales takes you on a green and leafy journey around the British Isles. Here are locally sourced and traditional folk tales of wild trees and plants throughout the from the magical mistletoe to the bad-tempered stinging nettle. Plants shape the British landscape, and they provide food, medicine and inspiration-yet in the middle of our hectic lives, we often take them for granted. Traditional stories, passed down the generations, tell of the complex relationship between people and plants in Britain, in lowlands and uplands, coasts, bogs, forests, and towns.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Folklore, Mythology, Nature, Audiobook

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2018

About the author

Lisa Schneidau is a performance storyteller, author and environmentalist living in Devon. She specialises in traditional stories about land, sea and sky from all over the world.

Lisa uses story to explore our connections with the natural world. She works with schools, communities and organisations across the UK and beyond. She also holds workshops and story walks to encourage the development of storytelling skills in nature education and rewilding projects. You'll find more details of current projects and events on her website.

Lisa is the bestselling author of three books of British and Irish folk tales published by the History Press:

Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland, in paperback, ebook and audiobook;
Woodland Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland, in paperback, ebook and audiobook narrated by the author;
River Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland, in paperback and ebook.

Lisa's fourth book, English Folk Tales of Coast and Sea, will be published by the History Press in late 2024.

Reviews

[Maya ︎☁︎︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Have a mouth of ivy and a heart of holly.”

There’s something magical about this one. These are gorgeous, timeless stories about the British and Irish landscapes, about the things that grow and live and die here. This isn’t usually the kind of book I’d pick up, but I stumbled across it a few days ago while I was searching for some traditional fairytales to read to my niece, and while I don’t think I can read these to her until she’s a little bit older, I’ve certainly had a marvellous time ravenously devouring every parable over the past forty-eight hours. While I was lost in these words, it felt like I was transported back to those wonderful moments I experienced out in nature as a child, and it made me long for a time where I felt like the whole universe was one enormous, unsolvable mystery laid out at my feet. I think during those endless days I must have buried my heart under the old oak tree that sat – ancient and unwavering – at the edge of my last neighbourhood, and that’s why books like this sing to me. I’m hopelessly searching for more, and if anybody has any recommendations, I’ll send a whole bunch of wildflowers to your door as thanks!

I really liked the fact that Lisa Scheidau presented all the stories in this book according to the wheel of the year, starting at the winter solstice and continuing through all the seasons. We’re given a brief overview of the properties and beliefs surrounding every plant before their story begins, and there are thirty-nine different folktales in total! We’re introduced to rivers that can only be tamed by posies; a willow tree that has ears, and a voice, and honesty; faeries who raise their young in tulips and who will do your bidding until you let a ‘thank you’ escape from between your lips; and Cinderella like you’ve never seen her before, with a mossy coat around her shoulders and a fondness for teleportation.

My personal favourite out of the entire collection was ‘The Elder-Tree Witch’, a splendid and unapologetically eccentric story. The mental image of a poor farmer being chased across his land by a disgruntled, slightly murderous deciduous mass of wood and berries and blossoms on a midsummer’s eve is one I’m not likely to forget any time soon. It was somehow startlingly hilarious and somewhat frightening at the same time! After I finished it, I decided to make the decision to never, ever cut down an elder tree. I’m also somewhat inclined to start whispering my woes to a Rowan under the noontime sunshine, and I may start setting down a bowl of cream and a pint of water for the fair folk on an evening as well.

You never know when you might need them to go and beat your neighbours with a stick for mowing their lawn at 7:30 am on a Sunday.

If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time, you can probably guess that the stories that stayed with me were the darker ones, especially those that involved faeries! (What can I say? I’m nothing if not predictable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I adored seeing a more traditionalist approach to their antics, especially the way they respected kindness and innocence but refused to accept gifts or thanks. I particularly enjoyed seeing Scheidau’s take on Yallery Brown, a mischievous, fairy-like nature spirit who appeared in one of my favourite childhood storybooks! Honestly, I don’t think there’s much about this book I didn’t enjoy, and I just remember having a wonderful time reading it. While I don’t think this will be for everyone, it’ll undoubtedly hold a special place in my heart for years to come.

"This is an ancient story, even though it only happened last year."

Overall, this book really reminded me of all the reasons why I adore folktales. It’s simple but utterly charming, and Scheidau’s love for the world around her leaks into every facet of this book. These stories will beg you to reconnect with all the natural beauty that surrounds you, and you’ll be more than happy to oblige. I’m so grateful that I’ve been reminded how important it is to keep it all alive and thriving so that my children and grandchildren will be able to run around and bury their own hearts under trees in the decades to come. If you’re someone from Britain or Ireland who’s looking for a deeper connection to their heritage, or you’re someone who has a profound appreciation for fairytales, I’d recommend this book to you wholeheartedly.

Plus, you should probably read it for the cover alone – isn’t it divine!?

[Viv JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This charming little book was an absolute perfect pick for bedtime reading during a pandemic, complete escapism and an antidote to too much harsh reality.

Following the seasons, it is a collection of folktales with plants at the forefront, ranging from interesting botanical takes on well known stories eg Cinderella/ Jack in the Beanstalk to more obscure and unusual stories involving a cast of faeries, leprechauns and an assortment of other-worldly beings. I found it quite a delight!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird and wonderful collection of botanical based folk stories. Think farmers having run ins with mischievous sprites and maidens making bargains with the Fae. Some of the stories are particularly unhinged, and I liked the inclusion of Jack and the Beanstalk. However a lot of the stories are too short to make any kind of impact, and I didn't really like the narration. A lot of the stories are very 'Southern' too. The North of England has an abundance of folk tales which are sadly omitted in favour of repeated stories from Cornwall, Gloucestershire etc.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of tales, some lovely examples of folklore, some new and some you may recognise. For quite a short book we have a lot of tales to get through and I think that is why this isn’t a 5*/5 for me.

At the beginning of each we have a short introduction/explanation of the story to follow and then the tale itself which is nicely written but some were so short they lacked detail. Nice but far too brief for me. I wanted to hear a tale woven with details, I wanted more and was expecting some exceptional story telling. Don't get me wrong, some of these stories were that - well told and well rounded but it was a bit hit and miss which tale got the better treatment.

As you may have guessed from the title and/or blurb of the book we are diving into myths and legends here, all the stories have their history based in Britain and Ireland and with a particular focus on plant life, we also meet fairies, spirits, gods and goddesses along the way and there is a sprinkling of magic too. Overall an interesting read, and I even learnt a little but I was a bit disappointed, it felt all too brief and lacking in depth; if the explanations/history of each tale were more detailed and the stories too then this could really be something.

Good but I did not love it as I hoped I might, 3.5/5 rounding up because I am nice like that (and I don't want to upset all the fairy folk like who appear in this book).

[fióka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aranyos könyv volt, esténként olvastam, részletekben, erre pont jók a mesék. Négy évszakra osztja fel a meséket, történeteket, azok szerint csoportosítja a mondanivalóját. Nagyon szerettem azt, hogy ellentétben a magyar (nép)mesevilággal, itt szinte teljesen hiányzik a moralizálás, a rövid sorozathoz való hasonlatosság, amikor a lényegen túl még ötször lezáródik a történet és utókövetjük a főszereplők életét az unalomig. Itt csak elmondja, amit el kell/szeretne, hogy aztán utána mi volt, hogy és miért, azt mindenki mesélje magának tovább tetszés szerint. Vagy ne, mert sokszor pont annyi hangzik el, amennyi kell.
Az egyetlen problémája a könyvnek a botanika hiánya. Az én ízlésemnek nem volt eléggé megtámogatva növényekkel. Persze, itt nyilván kérdés az, hogy mi az elég, elég-e az, hogy csak megemlítődik egy növény, esetleg már használják is, mint pl. engesztelő vagy lekenyerező ajándék valamilyen szellemnek, túlvilági lénynek vagy teljes
egészében egy növényről szól. Nos, ez utóbbiból van a legkevesebb, olyan mint pl. a Shetland-szigeteki híres csarabsör története. Mindenképpen túlzásnak tartom a címét, de a mesék ettől eltekintve tényleg üdítőek voltak máshoz szokott szellememnek, annak meg külön örülök, hogy ennek a könyvnek köszönhetően végre rájöttem, miért is nem szeret(t)em a meséket. Ezen túl röpke betekintést nyújt a szigetek hiedelemvilágába, azt külön élveztem, hogy szűkebb pátriámból is voltak történetek. Meseszerető népeknek kifejezetten ajánlott, botanikai vonatkozásokat, hivatkozásokat keresőknek már nem annyira - ez utóbbi lettem volna én.

[The Librarian Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful little book follows the wheel of the year, giving us enchanting tales inspired by and featuring the plants that are abundant in that particular season.

We get to meet the devious Yallery Brown, faeries who appreciate a good song, a terrifying river that can be tamed by flowers, a version of Cinderella that’s very different from the one you may have read (she has the most amazing coat made out of moss!), and a garden of tulips that act as beds for sleepy baby faeries!
Here you’ll find ancient tales steeped in magic alongside slightly more modern stories that bring the enchantment even closer to our own lives.

This is a perfect book to keep beside your bed to dip in and out of throughout the year, following along through the seasons.
But it’s also perfect to read all in one go like I did!

So if you’re into folk tales, nature, fairytales, plants, and the wheel of the year then this is definitely a leafy, plant filled book for you!

[Lisa Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fun reading Folk Tales from my heritage 🖤

[Athena (OneReadingNurse) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that the book is organized by season. These are shorter stories, some only a few paragraphs long, and seem like they were probably tamed down a bit from their originals. I liked the more lighthearted telling though and will definitely be checking out more from the author. She has at least two other books similar to this one!

Even with the brief tellings, this is a good way to get a feel for the types of tales being passed down and the themes involved. The changing landscape, poverty, fair folk, many superstitions around plants and trees, their medicinal uses, are just some of the recurring messages.

It is also nice that each story got a brief introduction with the region it originated from and some history surrounding the subject matter.

For the audiobook, I loved the narrator too. She does voices quite well and keeps things interesting. I am taking it at face value that she's pronouncing names correctly! I had the book on my Kindle then saw that it was also available on audio, so I did some searching through to hear the names 😅

Overall I'd definitely recommend this for everything from murderous trees to learning a few plant based facts!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prekrásny súbor rozprávok z prostredia Veľkej Británie a Írska, z ktorých je každá naviazaná na nejakú rastlinu, kvet, strom a ročné obdobie. Veľmi sa mi páčilo, že autorka pred každou rozprávkou urobila menší botanický a historický úvod. Najviac ma zaujal príbeh Mossycoat, čo je v podstate zmes Popolušky a Myšího kožíšku.

Určite odporúčam všetkým, ktorý sa chcú dozvedieť viac o britskom a írskom folklóre a obdivujú prírodu.

[A.M.]

Some of these are very odd; they just don’t have a real ending or a point. They may be the traditional versions of the tales, but I reckon they need something more to be elevated to the kind of tales that last. You know?
For example in The Fairy Widower, a girl goes to work as nanny for a fern fae for a year and a day. She loves him, she loves his child, and after a year (and a day) she wakes up back at home.
And I’m like, ‘that’s IT?’ Where’s the rest of the story? Does she pine away for love of him? Do they try to get back to each other? Does the child try to visit her? There’s more story here.

And then I hit this in the Jack and the Beanstalk story.

Although he had played computer games about hunters many, many times, Jack had never set foot in a place like this before in his life. (pp. 108-109).

All the previous stories have been set in an olde worlde time and this was just so jarring. And it just won’t work; he can’t have played many quest games if he fell for a person offering him a handful of beans for a cow. You know? Whispers *you can’t have both*
I read one per day for my short story reading task.
2 stars

[G. Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book of folk tales with links to plants. Some are traditional, some re-imagined. Nicely written work, with a great deal of charm.

[Aatqa Arham · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 car book

[Steve Kimmins]

I wasn’t sure what to expect and this probably wasn’t what I wanted anyway in my search for stories based on Folklore but it turned out to satisfy some curiosity about the extent of old Folk Tales hidden away in reference books.

It’s a compilation of old British folk tales, most no more than several pages long (some just a page or two). The running theme is meant to be that each story contains botanical details as the year runs through its seasons, from winter through to autumn, though the botany theme isn’t that strong in most tales.

Early on I was tempted to DNF as it became clear this was a simple presentation of fairy stories without any restyling to create real dramatic tension, for example. A similar style to any book you might use as a source to tell children fairy tales (though here some stories include the occasional murder, unplanned pregnancy, torture incident, and ravishing of a maiden). Indeed, this book could be a source of new stories for parents to tell their children - maybe with some censoring out of the odd tale as mentioned above! Plenty of fairies (often capricious and dangerous to cross), boggles, pixies, witches, leprechauns, kelpies, etc. I didn't know any of the stories except two that are clearly presented as updates/variants of Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella. Indeed, several stories are plainly updated from their original format with a more modern agricultural/farming environment forming a backdrop to the tale so the book’s author hasn’t just rehashed the original stories.

Probably the most interesting thing for me was that it opened a potential gateway into little known British folklore. The bibliography of several pages references quite a few books whose titles imply they are collections of old folk stories, many of them looking as though they are well out of print due to age.

I won’t rate it as it wasn't the sort of folklore fiction I’d hoped for but it was more interesting than I’d originally expected when starting it, because of its recording of some older, little known, though not necessarily gripping, stories. There’s more folklore hidden away than I’d realised.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly delightful collection of tales drawn together to reflect the natural changes over the course of a year and to show how deeply ingrained the natural world really is in our culture and heritage, including those well stories that we don't immediately associate with the natural world such as Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk. Scheidau captures the essence of each story beautifully introducing each season and linking it with the old ways of the land as well as the plants that were and are still key around these periods. I can see me coming back to this collection whenever I need a reminder of why I do what I do and need to reconnect with the natural world.

[Dawn 🫶 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

This book was very cute, I love the idea of learning about Folk Tales from a different land, this book does a great job of retelling a lot of different folk tales in a short span and then also is a little bit formal with a hint of informality. I'm interested to see where the other two books she wrote go and how they connect with these folk tales :)

2024 reads 40/300

[Anastasiya M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Folk tale books are slowly and surely becoming some of my favourite reads because it’s fascinating to learn about different beliefs and mythologies connected to certain countries and cultures. This book focused on folk tales of Britain and Ireland and there were interesting stories to enjoy. It’s a short audiobook that still gives enough details to lose yourself in while bringing you closer to nature, wherever you are in the world.

https://annietheinkdrinker.wordpress.com

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

This little collection of folk stories from across the British isles completely exceeded expectations. The author apparently has worked with Botany her whole life; she tells at one stage of years of trying to convince officials that fields of native wildflowers are important to the ecology. This love of the botanical comes across in this collection, where all the folk tales relate in one way or another, to plants and the wild areas of land.

I loved hearing this; so many folk tales have evolved to be heard and told rather than read, and the shortness of the individual stories made it the perfect audiobook for driving; most tales were long enough to take me about where I needed to go and give me something fascinating to ruminate on in traffic.

There was a certain poignancy too: Driving to work on the Gold Coast highway where our vandal of a Mayor is decimating any bushland he can get his corrupt hands on, while hearing about the same thing happening in England...

PostScript; It was so good, I went back and started listening to it agiain, almost as soon as I finished it the first time.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection of folk tales centered around plants and trees. A lot of these also include the Free Folk (more commonly known as faeries). Mind you, these are the real ones, who can do some serious harm if they don't like you.
A great read just before bed. The stories are short, so you can make your reading session as long or short as you want to. I loved it.
Though I wouldn't recommend reading this to young children. It can get quite scary.

Something I noticed: even though the concept of nature conservation is "relatively new", grief over loss of certain parts of nature or plants or trees seems to be of all times. I am guessing we all have stories about this, wether on a small or big scale (that one tree from your chidhood, or the health of our environment all at once...) and so this book has those stories too.

[Monte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely spring read!
Update: I reread this shortly after finishing Angela Carter’s fairy tales and have found these sterile and tame in comparison. There is merit to this collection; it is well-ordered, I love the botanical focus, and the stories are quite approachable and straightforward. But I’ve come to really appreciate the chaos and rawness of fairy tales by other tellers, and thus found the editorial hand too heavy in this collection.

[molly ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. a lovely collection of plant-related folk tales. i really appreciated the author's little blurbs before each tale, explaining historical context and plant lore when needed. i'd love to read her other collection as well!

[Miles Row · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book added some nice context to some of the stories I grew up listening to.

[Jade Biemeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're just starting to learn about Folklore from Great Britain and Ireland I believe this is a great place to start. The folktales are simple and easy to understand, but the main focus of this book is the energy of the earth and the connectivity between nature and humans. I found myself constantly scrawling notes on trees and flowers and what the myth's surrounding them are and creating a pinterest board filled with pictures of all the wildflowers mentioned. It cast a beautiful aesthetic of the British countryside and it felt so wholesome to read something written by a person who cares so deeply for nature.

[Ela B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book.

If you like folk tales where plants play an important role or just in general, this collection of stories from Great Britain and Ireland is a book for you. The author did a good job collecting them and putting them in different categories which will with a print or digital version make it easy to reference back to it later, should it be needed.

The narrator was pleasant and captivating, I didn't even notice the time passing.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positively charming, feels like a warm hug

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and a little morbid. Just the way I like my folk tales.

[January · Rating 5 out of 5]

Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Lisa Schneidau
Folk Tales #1
4h 52m narrated by Joan Walker, 192 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Folklore, Mythology, Nature, Fairy Tales, Plants, Ireland

Featuring: 39 Retellings, Natural Settings, Magic, Sex -off camera, Violence, Unfortunate Events

Rating as a movie: PG

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

My thoughts: 🌲The Forest of the Yew - This isn't how I expected it to end.
🍎The Apple Tree Man - Okay, these stories are old and simple. This one reminded me of Little Claus and Big Claus.
🌳 The Traveling Tree - Lol
🧥Mossycoat - This is a version of Cinderella. It was cute.
📱42% 2:04:12 - Few of these stories have happy endings. I just finished Yallery Brown. There's no way I'm going to review all 39 stories.

I'm so glad I found these stories. They are the best in the world but there are tons of gems in the collection. I will be reading books 2 and 3.

Recommend to others?: Yes. You should read them for their rarity alone.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fairy tale collection revolves around greenery, as the title implies, and features a few old favourites, sometimes retold with a hint of a modern background that doesn't get in the way of the original, and sometimes told straight. I was familiar with the majority of them, most notably the variation on Cinderella (which differs quite a bit from Perrault's, and is one of at least 500 versions that exist in Europe) and Jack and the Beanstalk, which has a bit of modern twist but follows the original quite closely otherwise.

The fae in the stories have always been against intensive farming, and I wish half of what they're able to do in them was applicable to real life. Perhaps not the parts in which people get trapped into dancing for a year, though. Truly charming and a great autumnal read.

[Courtney (moyashi_girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland.
I thought it was a great collection of stories all related to plants in some way. All the stories were lovely and while yes some were better than others. I didn't dislike a single one included!
I don't think I could pick a favourite one though as this short book has around 39 tales and that is a lot to choose from.

The tales are also all short being mainly around 2-5 pages with a couple that are longer.
I saw that the author has two more books this time centred around Rivers and the Woodlands which sounds even better than this one and I can't wait to pick them up!
Overall this was a great book that I recommend checking out especially if you are interested in folk tales centred around plants in Britain and Ireland!

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful, just what I needed, genuine leg swinging giggles and smiles of stories that end well (most of them). It's a beautiful book really and i loved how joyful and playful it's take on folklore was. I guess too many depressing stuff lately, maybe I just needed a couple of happy stories that made me smile and imagine leprechauns tricking clearly evil and greedy people.

Pd. I want to have a cottage with its little garden and take care of it in one of those green grass planes of UK (or Ireland not very picky myself). You know a nice hat and apron and stuff like that, and every now and then tell stories about mythical forest creature. Dunno I feel like it sounds like a good plan

[Farnz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️ 4h :52 min long audiobook on @audible
I have one question. Why do fae not like getting thanked? It’s like a swear word to them 😂 Mossycoat is Cinderella lol. I really liked this version. Yallery brown was a crazy story 😳 don’t help fairies lol. Jack & the beanstalk with her perspective was also very enjoyable. Man can’t leave good enough alone lol. The farmer & the boggart was also an interesting one. 2 moons in may & kate crackernuts was sweet. Overall, I enjoined it. Really nice to see stories around each botanic & where they originate from