English Fairy Tales and Legends

by Rosalind Kerven

12 classic English fairy tales and their history, from tales of dragons to Robin Hood.

Folk tales and legends are an intrinsic part of English national culture. In his book, Rosalind Kerven has revived the best English fairy tales for a new generation. These are stories of giants, dragons, fairies and Arthurian Romance. Together, they form a perfect introduction to the different types of traditional stories and their place in English oral and written heritage.

Each tale is linked with a specific place or county in England: 'The Dragon Castle' from Northumberland, 'The Girl Snatched By Fairies' from County Durham, 'The Princess and the Fool' from Kent and 'The Dark Moon' from Lincolnshire.

The book also includes notes on each story: the history and where it came from, its development and short summaries of many related or similar stories.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Short Stories, Mythology, Folklore, Anthologies

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

"Rosalind Kerven, connoisseur of myths and folktales" – THE INDEPENDENT (one of the UK's leading online news websites)

I'm the author of over 70 books published in 22 countries, with total world sales of nearly a million.
Specialising in myths, legends, folk tales and fairy tales from all over the world.

Follow me on Twitter @MythsandTales

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

when i was little, my grandmother had a book of fairy tales that i loved and have been trying to find ever since. i was hoping reading this would spark a memory of which stories were in that book so i could launch a more effective search for it, but alas...i can only remember one story, and i can remember which stories were NOT in it, and that's all. but that's neither here nor there. this is a beautifully designed book, with great artwork, and fantastic paper. i liked the final section which is like an origin story rundown slash world mythology parallel. and yet... it is not my book.

come to my blog!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to me. Brilliant and concise.

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has new tellings of several famous and less-than-famous stories from Great Britain's folklore history. Rosalind Kerven uses many primary sources to concoct her own versions of the tales. Each tale has three or four pages of notes that discuss the source materials and alternate versions of the stories both in England and in other countries and cultures. The stories are fun and the scholarship is interesting, making a winning combination. Here's a story by story review:

1. King Arthur and the Hideous Hag--King Arthur goes to fight an ogre who is kidnapping local women. The ogre curses Arthur with debilitating weakness and gives him a way to lift the curse: solve this riddle by next year: What does every women long for? The court has lots of answers but nothing definitive. The Round Table knights head out in search of an answer. They each run into the hideous hag, who promises the answer only if the knight will marry her. The fairy-tale resolution is very satisfying. The notes talk a bit about Arthur and the mythology around him.

2. Tom Tit Tot--A poor girl finds favor with the king. Her mom brags that the daughter can spin five skeins of the finest linen yarn in a day, which seals the deal for the king. He promises to let her have eleven months of luxury as long as the twelfth month sees her spinning five skeins a day. The girl is a bit lazy and unintelligent and goes for the deal. Once the time rolls around, the king takes her to an isolated tower where she's locked in. If she doesn't produce, she'll be executed. A little imp comes and promises to do the work for her. She'll have to be his at the end of the month if she can't guess his name by then. So this is basically the Rumpelstiltskin story with some variations. It still works well and the comments at the end are very interesting.

3. The Dead Moon--A local bog full of nasty creatures is swallowing up anyone who wanders in. The moon comes in female form to explore the cursed area. A local man explores the bog at the same time and the moon sacrifices herself to save him. She is trapped in a pit in the bog. With no moon in the sky, the bog ghouls get more ambitious and start wandering into town. Nine local men band together to free the moon in a high-risk exploration of the bog. The story is written in a Lovecraftian style, though the author doesn't quite get it right. I still enjoyed the story.

4. Jack the Giant-Killer--One of the many Jack stories (the most famous being Jack and the Bean Stalk), this tale has Jack craftily killing several giants who are plaguing the land. The story is a lot of fun. The rich history of Jack stories documented in the notes makes me want to find a book that has more about Jack.

5. Dragon Castle--A lonely widower king marries a beautiful woman who turns out to be, if not a witch, at least very witchy. She abuses her step-daughter who is at least as beautiful as she is. At a party where all the guests are swearing fealty to the royal couple, one visiting knight swears fealty only to the king and then proclaims the princess as the most beautiful woman. The queen loses it and curses both the step-daughter, who turns into a dragon, and the knight, who is driven off to Norway. The king won't let the other knights kill the dragon so the queen says she'll let the dragon (who is causing lots of trouble for everyone) live at the castle for a year and a day, planning to kill her at the end. The castaway knight hears about it and consults an old wise woman on how to get back and save the princess. With the proper knowledge, he returns and saves the day. The story is very charming, with a lot of familiar fairy tale elements blended with enough new twists and ideas to make a great story.

6. Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow--A local lord has a lot of financial bad luck and a son who is a ne'r-do-well. The impoverished lord goes through Sherwood Forest where he is captured by Robin Hood. Robin sees the plight of the man and loans him some money to save his son. The lord promises to pay back in a year. The year passes and the lord's fortunes recover, so he goes to pay Robin. Robin politely refuses. Not long after, Robin comes to the lord's castle, fleeing from the Sheriff of Nottingham. They just had the archery tournament where Robin won the golden arrow. The lord offers sanctuary, repaying his debt to Robin. The story is interesting since Robin is a secondary character to the lord.

7. The Weardale Fairies--A daughter wandering in the woods comes upon the fairies frolicking in their hiding spot. She watches for a bit and then races home, hoping they haven't spotted her spying on them. They did and come to kidnap her. Her father goes to a wise old woman to get advice on how to get her daughter back. She tells him what to give the fairies to free his daughter. The only problem is she gives them as three riddles to solve, like "a chicken with no bones." The story follows the typical path and is fun. Tricksey fairies are popular in English folklore, as the notes detail.

8. The Devil's Bargain--Three boys summon the Devil to their village and the village schoolmaster has to come up with an impossible task for the Devil to do. Again, this story seems very familiar but it does have some nice twists and changes. The notes talk about how the Devil often shows up in stories but almost always is defeated by human ingenuity.

9. The Princess and the Fool--A beautiful and intelligent princess is holding out for a suitor who can keep her entertained. Three brothers come to try their luck. The youngest is a fool who collects all sort of things in his oversized coat's pockets. He's able to entertain her and overcome her father's objections. The notes call this a "nonsense tale" where impossible or ridiculous situations arise and are resolved in silly ways. Such stories are fun, but in my opinion best taken in moderation.

10. The Seventh Swan--A young, disreputable man ignores the local taboo against killing swans when the area undergoes a poor harvest, and thus wide-spread hunger. He wings one bird, which survives, and takes it back to his one-room shack. Once there, he no longer has the heart to kill and eat it. The swan transforms into a beautiful young maiden with a wounded arm. He tries to force her to serve him. She refuses. Eventually, her arm is healed and she flees. He chases her but the other six swans come to her rescue and kill the man. Transformation tales are fairly common in folklore and this is a typical example.

11. The Knight of York--A poor family has yet another child. The daughter is fretted over; a passing knight reads from his Book of Fate about her future. He tells the parents that she is fated to have a spectacular life in the nobility, so he convinces them to let him adopt her. Really, what he read was that his son would marry this peasant girl, which he is dead set again. He tries to drown her in a river but through a fantastic circumstance, she is saved. She grows up and through more unusual coincidences becomes the daughter-in-law of the knight, who eventually accepts her. The story follows a common rags-to-riches story like the famous Cinderella. The notes describe many variations on the tale and point out that such tales exist in more or less every culture.

12. The Wicked Witch--An older girl goes out to find a job but no one except a wicked witch is hiring. Luckily, the girl did acts of kindness for three bewitched objects (a cow, a tree, and a loaf of bread; how's that for random?). When the girl discovers and sneaks off with the witch's gold, the objects repay her kindness by helping her escape. The tale is fairly typical folk tale plotting. The notes talk a bit about witches, especially those found in England.

13. The Asrai--A young man walks to work and sees a woman in a lake just before dawn. She beckons to him and he realizes she is both beautiful and half-fish. She almost leads him to his doom but he snaps out of it before he's lured to the deepest part of the lake. At work, no one believes his story except an old gaffer. The man goes back with a row boat and fishing net. He captures her but on the way back to shore she escapes. The story is a bit flat; the most interesting thing is the water fairy who looks like a mermaid. England has some mermaid stories, even inland mermaid stories. Most stories are about how they are dangerous or harbingers of bad events. The notes were more interesting than the story!

14. The Forbidden Forest--A peasant girl refuses the advances of the king, so he closes the kingdom's borders and dictates that he can have any woman he wants and will behead her when he grows tired of that lady. The girl is sent to her grandmother's house to hide because the home is remote with the titular forest nearby. The girl goes on an errand to the local village. She spots the king and his retinue approaching. She flees into the forest, an act of desperation since granny warned her about the magical trees, which are governed by a mighty oak in the middle. As she flees through the forest, she comes upon the oak. She curtseys and the path continues through to the other side of the forest. The king and his retainers pursue her. When they come to the oak, the king spits contemptuously. As he rides past, a large branch falls and breaks his neck. His followers move to help him but are nabbed by the other trees. This is more of a spooky campfire tale that I may use on our next Cub Scout campout.

15. The King of England's Three Sons--The king is sick and sends his sons to find some magical golden apples. Each son is, in turn, guided by progressively weirder (and uglier) old men until the son is directed to an enchanted castle with many guardians and one sleeping princess to pass before coming to the garden with the golden apples. The two elder sons fail to pass all the tests on the way; the youngest returns with the apples. They are supposed to meet at a crossroads before returning to the castle. The youngest arrives first and falls asleep. The other brothers come upon him and divide his apples and substitute rotten crab apples. The king demands he be executed. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the princess wakes up and discovers that the youngest son swapped garters with her. She recognizes the royal crest and goes to England to find her love. The execution is interrupted and the young couple marry happily. The story is fun if a bit full of nonsense. The notes talk about various quest stories, including some detail about Arthur's Holy Grail quest.

Overall, this is a great collection of fairy tales.

Highly recommended.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this are gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

I'd read or heard of most of the stories in this charming book, and I particularly liked the re-tellings of the ones more local to me.

I wouldn't say this is for really young children, perhaps 6+. It feels a bit grown up in places and younger children would probably struggle to understand some of the terms. It'd be perfect for reading aloud, perhaps a bedtime story to inspire dreams of dragons and giants?

I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.

[Lin991meiguo · Rating 5 out of 5]

familiar will most stories. So happy.

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This little tome had some really cool stories in it, my favorite being Dragon Castle. the explanatory notes were also at times helpful, but despite the fact that the author lists her sources, she is not specific enough with her referencing. I love fairy tales and also reading about England though, so this was a fun read regardless.

[Karen M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a magical book for old and young. Absolutely loved it. Lovely look at fairytales and folklore from Britain that can be passed from generation to generation. Loved the history behind each tale and County of origin. Beautiful collection and stunning illustrations too

[Gavin Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the best books on fairy tales I’ve read. I would like a second instalment, please.

[Kiran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a fair few books now which try to retell classic folktales. Many are bogged down by their faithfulness to source materials, or so devoted to literally translating original works that they become dry and joyless to read. Others indulge in so much creative inventiveness that they no longer resemble the original material at all. Rosalind Kerven finds an enchanting middle ground between the two, exploring the traditional stories we are familiar with, accompanied with a charming and engaging flavour of their own. Although there are some stories which you will have heard before, many are less known but enchantingly told none-the-less. In this beautiful hardback edition, each tale is supported by atmospheric illustrations as well as detailed notes on sources and history – these are also presented fascinatingly, with the author noting changes made as well as discrepancies between sources.

Kerven makes reading the stories of England's heritage a spellbinding, and highly enjoyable experience.

[Andrea Zuvich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not quite what I expected. We generally assume that fairy tales are sweet tales with a HEA (Happily Ever After). Whilst this was indeed the case with a few stories, these tales are, for the most part, grisly and a bit terrifying (lots of executions and heads being chopped off, etc). Think more Grimm and less Disney. I had to sugarcoat, gloss over, and edit on the fly while reading these to my 4-year-old! This is best for 8-year-olds and older, but my daughter nevertheless really enjoyed the stories. And she was tickled by the last sentence - which I had to re-read several times to her because it was so cheeky.

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories are the thread on which the world is woven, although nowadays, with the meaning being drained from words all the time, the thread is fraying. But these tales come from a time when words still glittered with all the danger of faerie, which is to say the danger of their truth, and in Rosalind Kerven the stories have found a fine teller. In turns haunting, sharp, unsettling and admonitory, these are the best kind of stories and the illustrations are a superb complement to the tales. Highly recommended.

[Clervie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for children that can be also read by any adult who's still in love with fairy tales and legends. The stories are simple and straightforward, but the writing style is so creative that it naturally transports the reader to magical lands in faraway times. I particularly enjoyed the second half of the book, which is dedicated to the explanations of the sources for each of the tales - a little treasure for everyone with a passion for local folklore.

[Lisa Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book off the shelf of a local independent bookstore. The cover is so pretty and the illustrations inside are quite haunting (from the Mary Evans Picture Library and cover art by Alice Pattullo). I am late to reading fairytales as they weren't popular in my household growing up. But it is never too late for fairytales, really. Each story is based on old English folklore combined with other European tales. Some recognizable as being picked up by Disney and made into classic films. I enjoyed Rosalind's interpretation of each fairytale. Her writing is quite simple and in such, has a way of maintaining the reader's attention. A good book for the home library. I think this would be of interest to older children as well and the stories are not too 'adult'.
In addition, the back of the book is dedicated to Notes and Sources on all of the fairytales. This is a handy and interesting section where Rosalind writes about the original source of each fairytale she has written.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate these tales have been collated even though they are not as interesting as the well-known classics e.g. Cinderella. Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of the style Kerven wrote them in as she used a lot of modern British sayings, whereas I prefer the more authentic classic vibe.
However, the research at the end is where the real interest comes in. I really enjoyed reading where all the stories had been discovered and a lot about the historical context.

[Veronique Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love fairy tales. Even better when they are specific to a country and a people. This book gathers stories passed from generations down passing on wisdom rolled in humour and at time sarcasm. All of Disney's popular films are based on fairy tales told to children to teach them manners and how to live better often how to use brains over brawn to get on in life.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick collection of old fairy tales from England. I think what I really liked about this was the dark art style and that each story was labeled with where in England it originated from. I read this in one sitting and found it an enjoyable experience. I don't think there was anything particular unique about this collection of stories but it was still good.

[Mathilde Lindeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice concept. The tales are organized by location from where they originate and there is a lot of background information on every story. The book is beautifully illustrated. I didn't enjoy the writing style, the stories felt very rushed.

[Michelle]

It is wonderful to read stories that my ancestors might have known.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting collection of Fairy tales.

[Hanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite story was The Princess and the Fool. Most of these I had read before but had been reworked somewhat differently. Very good read.

[Bharath · Rating 4 out of 5]

another time

[LudmilaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Great read. Out of the collections of fairy tales I read recently, this one presented archetypes in a most classic way that relates to our every day culture.

[Zola Heuvel · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was nice to just read a story alone, like just a short one. some were def a bit strange but ok i’ll take it.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories I liked the best:
- The Wicked Witch
- The Forbidden Forest

Ones I liked but not as much (yet still better than the rest):
- Jack the Giant Killer
- The Seventh Swan
- The Princess & The Fool

The excellent end notes bumped my rating from 3.5 to 4 Stars

[US2]

Great book

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Robin Janssen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, a little dull at times

[Elspeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light & dark as fairytales should be.

[Chloé Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

been slowly making my way through this for a couple weeks, reading a tale or two whenever I have a free moment and it’s been a true delight !!