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Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain
Soaked in mist and old magic, Storyland is a new illustrated mythology of Britain, set in its wildest landscapes.
It begins between the Creation and Noah's Flood, follows the footsteps of the earliest generation of giants from an age when the children of Cain and the progeny of fallen angels walked the earth, to the founding of Britain, England, Wales and Scotland, the birth of Christ, the wars between Britons, Saxons and Vikings, and closes with the arrival of the Normans.
These are retellings of medieval tales of legend, landscape and the yearning to belong, inhabited with characters now Brutus, Albina, Scota, Arthur and Bladud among them. Told with narrative flair, embellished in stunning artworks and glossed with a rich and erudite commentary. We visit beautiful, sacred places that include prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy, spanning the length of Britain from the archipelago of Orkney to as far south as Cornwall; mountains and lakes such as Snowdon and Loch Etive and rivers including the Ness, the Soar and the story-silted Thames in a vivid, beautiful tale of our land steeped in myth. It Illuminates a collective memory that still informs the identity and political ambition of these places.
In Storyland , Jeffs reimagines these myths of homeland, exile and migration, kinship, loyalty, betrayal, love and loss in a landscape brimming with wonder.
It begins between the Creation and Noah's Flood, follows the footsteps of the earliest generation of giants from an age when the children of Cain and the progeny of fallen angels walked the earth, to the founding of Britain, England, Wales and Scotland, the birth of Christ, the wars between Britons, Saxons and Vikings, and closes with the arrival of the Normans.
These are retellings of medieval tales of legend, landscape and the yearning to belong, inhabited with characters now Brutus, Albina, Scota, Arthur and Bladud among them. Told with narrative flair, embellished in stunning artworks and glossed with a rich and erudite commentary. We visit beautiful, sacred places that include prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy, spanning the length of Britain from the archipelago of Orkney to as far south as Cornwall; mountains and lakes such as Snowdon and Loch Etive and rivers including the Ness, the Soar and the story-silted Thames in a vivid, beautiful tale of our land steeped in myth. It Illuminates a collective memory that still informs the identity and political ambition of these places.
In Storyland , Jeffs reimagines these myths of homeland, exile and migration, kinship, loyalty, betrayal, love and loss in a landscape brimming with wonder.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2021
576 people are currently reading
10555 people want to read
About the author
Amy Jeffs
6 books133 followersAmy Jeffs is an art historian specialising in the Middle Ages. In 2019, she gained a PhD in Art History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, having studied for earlier degrees at the Courtauld Institute of Art and the University of Cambridge. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
During her PhD Amy co-convened a project researching medieval badges and pilgrim souvenirs at the British Museum. She then worked in the British Library's department of Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern manuscripts.
Her writing is often accompanied by her own linocut and wood-engraved prints.
Amy is a regular contributor to Country Life Magazine.
During her PhD Amy co-convened a project researching medieval badges and pilgrim souvenirs at the British Museum. She then worked in the British Library's department of Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern manuscripts.
Her writing is often accompanied by her own linocut and wood-engraved prints.
Amy is a regular contributor to Country Life Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 465 reviews
June 19, 2024
i could only read myths and fairytales for my whole life.
but maybe not like this?
this was a strange one.
it is a somewhat chronological, locationally disparate collection of british-related myths and legends, each given a chapter in which the first half is a mostly unchanged telling and the second half talks about the author walking through hills near where the mythological act is thought to have happened.
i wanted these to build on each other, but instead i had to struggle to place myself both in time and in setting, figure out what the connection was to the last one, if any, and work out what was true and what was a fairly inexplicable and whimsical addition from the author.
her art was very cool, and the writing style was easy to follow, but i'm not sure who this book was for? i had a beginner's understanding of these myths, and i somehow felt like i knew them too well and not well enough for this book.
i liked it more at the beginning, but by the end, the charm had worn off and i was confused about the point, which never seemed to come together.
bottom line: why mess with what works.
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
but maybe not like this?
this was a strange one.
it is a somewhat chronological, locationally disparate collection of british-related myths and legends, each given a chapter in which the first half is a mostly unchanged telling and the second half talks about the author walking through hills near where the mythological act is thought to have happened.
i wanted these to build on each other, but instead i had to struggle to place myself both in time and in setting, figure out what the connection was to the last one, if any, and work out what was true and what was a fairly inexplicable and whimsical addition from the author.
her art was very cool, and the writing style was easy to follow, but i'm not sure who this book was for? i had a beginner's understanding of these myths, and i somehow felt like i knew them too well and not well enough for this book.
i liked it more at the beginning, but by the end, the charm had worn off and i was confused about the point, which never seemed to come together.
bottom line: why mess with what works.
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
November 16, 2022
3.75 stars
This is an illustrated history of the mythology of the British Isles; ranging from the Orkneys and Shetlands down to Cornwall. It covers prehistory up to about 1200. Jeffs is an art historian and so the illustrations are good, linocuts and wood engraved prints. The story is told, one per chapter and then Jeffs provides a commentary with the background and origins of the myth in question. Sometimes there is geographical information, if Jeffs has visited the area in question. The whole is steeped in old magic, wild landscapes, giants, dragons and fog (inevitably). The sources are varied, but include some of the usual suspects such as Geoffrey of Monmouth.
There are refugees from Troy, giants from Africa, travellers from Greece, Britons fighting Saxons, inevitably Arthur, Merlin (in lots of stories), Joseph of Arimathea, lots of Vikings, Scots, Picts, Stonehenge, curse, treasure hunts, even Nessie. As ever the stories can be brutal and are often magical. Christianity intrudes in the later stories.
There are rather good evocations of the landscape.
Jeffs speaks about her purpose in writing this:
“A desire to share the stories and get people excited about them was the beginning of it all. I was fascinated by how the illustrations in the Brut legend followed the narrative action but they were very concise illustrations and communicated so many elements of an episode so efficiently. I really enjoyed that challenge of persuading people through pictures that these were stories to pay attention to and to enjoy.”
On the whole I enjoyed this. I did feel though that some of the rougher edges were taken off the myths and that was perhaps a shame. The language has been modernised and some of the stories changed slightly. It just felt a little sanitised.
This is an illustrated history of the mythology of the British Isles; ranging from the Orkneys and Shetlands down to Cornwall. It covers prehistory up to about 1200. Jeffs is an art historian and so the illustrations are good, linocuts and wood engraved prints. The story is told, one per chapter and then Jeffs provides a commentary with the background and origins of the myth in question. Sometimes there is geographical information, if Jeffs has visited the area in question. The whole is steeped in old magic, wild landscapes, giants, dragons and fog (inevitably). The sources are varied, but include some of the usual suspects such as Geoffrey of Monmouth.
There are refugees from Troy, giants from Africa, travellers from Greece, Britons fighting Saxons, inevitably Arthur, Merlin (in lots of stories), Joseph of Arimathea, lots of Vikings, Scots, Picts, Stonehenge, curse, treasure hunts, even Nessie. As ever the stories can be brutal and are often magical. Christianity intrudes in the later stories.
There are rather good evocations of the landscape.
Jeffs speaks about her purpose in writing this:
“A desire to share the stories and get people excited about them was the beginning of it all. I was fascinated by how the illustrations in the Brut legend followed the narrative action but they were very concise illustrations and communicated so many elements of an episode so efficiently. I really enjoyed that challenge of persuading people through pictures that these were stories to pay attention to and to enjoy.”
On the whole I enjoyed this. I did feel though that some of the rougher edges were taken off the myths and that was perhaps a shame. The language has been modernised and some of the stories changed slightly. It just felt a little sanitised.
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June 12, 2023This came garnished with lavish praise on the cover and award nominations and I...can't entirely see why. It's a perfectly serviceable retelling of various British myths and legends, although it's not fully clear which parts the author embroidered/added and which are from the originals. That didn't bother me in the wonderful Vetaal and Vikram: Riddles of the Undead but then, that was so wonderfully written. Here the writing's not particularly exciting or evocative so I was reading it for the actual folklore and didn't really want interpolations and alterations.
It's fine, I was just expecting it to be amazing. Hype strikes again.
It's fine, I was just expecting it to be amazing. Hype strikes again.
July 4, 2022
Despite the praise Storyland has garnered elsewhere, including being shortlisted as a Waterstones Book of the Year, I was lukewarm about it.
Each chapter of the book features the author's retelling of a myth followed by details of its historical sources. I liked finding out the sources behind each myth although, having said that, many of the stories rely heavily on a limited number of sources, few of which are contemporaneous. The occasional sections describing the author's visits to sites mentioned in the stories were interesting. The map on the inside flap of the book's cover helped to situate the stories given the use of ancient and unfamiliar names for some of the areas of Britain.
In the Prologue the author writes, 'You are entering a work of legend, based on medieval tales of Britain's foundation and settlement that bear only a passing resemblance to "true" history'. This was part of my difficulty with the book because some of the myths were so unfamiliar it was difficult to discern the degree of invention the author had brought to the retelling. My favourite parts of the book were the first section in which the author details the various myths surrounding the first arrivals from the East (including giants) on the islands we now know as Britain and Ireland. I also liked the stories featuring Merlin, perhaps because I felt on more familiar ground. (Interestingly, the story involving Merlin's prophecy of the manner of his death turns up in the invented 'Book of Conach' featured in James Robertson's News of the Dead, the winner of this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.) Many other stories felt repetitive, just a series of kings with strange names killing other kings with strange names in order to usurp their thrones or seek revenge. In the stories women are valued merely for their beauty, their fertility, their status as the daughters of kings or nobles and are often the victims of trickery.
As I mentioned above, the book has received very positive reviews and it did make me wonder what I was missing. Reading the book, which was a book club pick, felt like hard work and, for me, the author's obvious passion for her subject didn't translate into an enjoyable reading experience. However, the striking linocut illustrations that accompany the text are wonderful and, in fact, would make an attractive book in their own right.
Each chapter of the book features the author's retelling of a myth followed by details of its historical sources. I liked finding out the sources behind each myth although, having said that, many of the stories rely heavily on a limited number of sources, few of which are contemporaneous. The occasional sections describing the author's visits to sites mentioned in the stories were interesting. The map on the inside flap of the book's cover helped to situate the stories given the use of ancient and unfamiliar names for some of the areas of Britain.
In the Prologue the author writes, 'You are entering a work of legend, based on medieval tales of Britain's foundation and settlement that bear only a passing resemblance to "true" history'. This was part of my difficulty with the book because some of the myths were so unfamiliar it was difficult to discern the degree of invention the author had brought to the retelling. My favourite parts of the book were the first section in which the author details the various myths surrounding the first arrivals from the East (including giants) on the islands we now know as Britain and Ireland. I also liked the stories featuring Merlin, perhaps because I felt on more familiar ground. (Interestingly, the story involving Merlin's prophecy of the manner of his death turns up in the invented 'Book of Conach' featured in James Robertson's News of the Dead, the winner of this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.) Many other stories felt repetitive, just a series of kings with strange names killing other kings with strange names in order to usurp their thrones or seek revenge. In the stories women are valued merely for their beauty, their fertility, their status as the daughters of kings or nobles and are often the victims of trickery.
As I mentioned above, the book has received very positive reviews and it did make me wonder what I was missing. Reading the book, which was a book club pick, felt like hard work and, for me, the author's obvious passion for her subject didn't translate into an enjoyable reading experience. However, the striking linocut illustrations that accompany the text are wonderful and, in fact, would make an attractive book in their own right.
February 16, 2022
As Terry Pratchett said, “Imagination, not intelligence, made us human” and we as a species have been telling stories for thousands of years. And until the advent of paper, these were an oral tradition, told between individuals who passed them on in turn. The stories that have come to make our own mythology have in their own way defined who we are now to an extent. In those stories, you can find dragons, giants and other creatures that have not walked these lands in millennia.
The stores that Jeffs has chosen to make up this collection have been split into four chunks, In the Beginning, where she retells the story of how Albion got its name from and the naming of the Humber and the Severn. In the prehistory section, some of the selected stories include how Conwenna saved Britain and the Dragons that Lived Under Oxford. Merlin and Arthur feature heavily in the Antiquity section and the stories in the Middle Ages section bring us right up to the Norman invasion.
I mostly liked this retelling of the myths and folklore that permeate our history. It is beautifully illustrated, and I liked that the stories had been updated to a modern language. That said, I did have a couple of problems with it, even though the stories are written in a modern language Jeffs has taken the liberty to alter some of them subtly too. I personally don’t think that this is necessary as the original stories as we know then are strange and occasionally defy explanation for a reason. The second reason was that after each story was a little vignette of her visiting the place where the events were supposed to have taken place and they felt a bit bolted on. I would have preferred them to be as part of the introduction or afterword to each chapter.
The stores that Jeffs has chosen to make up this collection have been split into four chunks, In the Beginning, where she retells the story of how Albion got its name from and the naming of the Humber and the Severn. In the prehistory section, some of the selected stories include how Conwenna saved Britain and the Dragons that Lived Under Oxford. Merlin and Arthur feature heavily in the Antiquity section and the stories in the Middle Ages section bring us right up to the Norman invasion.
I mostly liked this retelling of the myths and folklore that permeate our history. It is beautifully illustrated, and I liked that the stories had been updated to a modern language. That said, I did have a couple of problems with it, even though the stories are written in a modern language Jeffs has taken the liberty to alter some of them subtly too. I personally don’t think that this is necessary as the original stories as we know then are strange and occasionally defy explanation for a reason. The second reason was that after each story was a little vignette of her visiting the place where the events were supposed to have taken place and they felt a bit bolted on. I would have preferred them to be as part of the introduction or afterword to each chapter.
September 19, 2025
The cover was what initially drew me towards this book as I searched the shelves for something about British myth, then the blurb sold me. I enjoyed reading Jeffs reimaging of tales from yonder, as she brought to life fragements of stories which feel neither fact nor fiction. Perhaps these tales are something inbetween. If you're intrested in folklore, retelling, and a bit of history, this is a great read.
September 16, 2021
Discover the locations in Storyland
What a wonderful book! This is a book of booktrails if you had a time machine. I wish I had as I’d love to go back to when Stonehenge was formed, when Loch Ness was first thought to have a monster and when Merlin roamed the earth.
I felt as if this was a time travelling kind of tome. It’s quite heavy but that’s with all the wisdom and legends within. The author has done a good job of selecting legends and landscapes around the country with literary associations. There’s Kings, wizards, stone circles and monsters in lochs. Something for everyone.
The author is an art historian and printmaker and her passion for her subject come through loud and clear. It’s all very accessible and easy to follow but what an adventure! Loved it!
Ah if only I could get that time machine and travel to these places as they were then. IT would be quite a treat to do that in real life, taking this book as your guide. Storyland is a great title for a book full of both.
What a wonderful book! This is a book of booktrails if you had a time machine. I wish I had as I’d love to go back to when Stonehenge was formed, when Loch Ness was first thought to have a monster and when Merlin roamed the earth.
I felt as if this was a time travelling kind of tome. It’s quite heavy but that’s with all the wisdom and legends within. The author has done a good job of selecting legends and landscapes around the country with literary associations. There’s Kings, wizards, stone circles and monsters in lochs. Something for everyone.
The author is an art historian and printmaker and her passion for her subject come through loud and clear. It’s all very accessible and easy to follow but what an adventure! Loved it!
Ah if only I could get that time machine and travel to these places as they were then. IT would be quite a treat to do that in real life, taking this book as your guide. Storyland is a great title for a book full of both.
January 14, 2022
The most interesting thing about this book when I first saw it at Waterstones was how a book that is purportedly about the mythologies of Britain came to be named 'Storyland' as if the UK was the only land that stories could be about, whose stories matter. These concerns aside, as I am a huge sucker for myths and thought the cover looked lovely, I purchased it anyway. Upon finishing it, I regrettably can't say that I've found anything else about the book that is more interesting. What makes this so frustrating is that even though the myths touch upon far off places like Greece, Egypt and even Syria, they were engaged with in such a shallow manner that it seems as through they were sprinkled in as nothing more than just flavour text. Much like the illustrations that accompany the texts, the stories remain utterly lacking in colour and by this, I'm not just referring to the work from a race-centered perspective. Jeffs takes the job of retelling the myths so seriously that instead of feeling like I'm being immersed in and shown the wondrous world of these legends, they read like I'm being told a whole lot of blah with all the magic drained out of it. In fact, I often find myself dosing off, utterly confused about all that is happening. To give credit where it's due, despite how lacking the prose is, I appreciated how they were paired with critical commentary that shed light on these myths. While Jeff's voice is most compelling where she gets analytical, she unfortunately veers into travelogue territory every now and then and this makes the commentary feels awkward as I could never quite figure out why we should care about her personal vacations. Nonetheless, despite the unevenness of the work, the work is clearly very well researched and the illustrations are a nice stylistic touch, though I can't say that they are outstanding. Altogether, Storyland would be a lot more enjoyable if there was more substance over style. Instead of trying to put on too many hats, from storyteller, to artist, to academic to even travel influencer, focusing on one of two aspects would make the work a lot more compelling.
October 23, 2021
I tried to read this book in snippets in order to savor it. It was everything I hoped and more and exactly why I fell in love with the Anglo-Saxon period as an undergrad. Jeffs is a literary and artistic genius. Her moody prose and linocuts capture the melancholy tone of The Seafarer and The Wanderer and place it in the larger world of myth, legend, and history in Britain.
July 13, 2023
Interesting evaluation of British mythology through the ages and how these stories relate to history and events
November 24, 2023
It's interesting that in Popular Western Culture, the Greek and Norse mythologies tend to dominate our literature, with the occasional smattering of Egyptian pantheon, if people want a more exciting flare.
You'd think that British/English/UK mythology would be much more prominent among states originally settled by the empire (there is probably a history thesis in there somewhere about how perhaps its a form of rejection of the British Empire, or possible even that sometimes one's own culture can be invisible while others' stands out and is 'interesting').
Anyway other than Arthurian legends I didn't really know much, and the idea of diving into StoryLand was very intriguing. I found this work similar to Saga-Land, a tome diving into Norse mythology, while the author also explored their own heritage in Iceland. To be more specific in StoryLand, Jeffs gives us brief insights into her own world as she explores these myths (but to her credit, doesn't dwell on herself, which I saw not to be snarky but rather that when one picks up a book on mythology you don't want to hear too much about the author. Jeffs provides just enough to ground the narrative and pull intriguing threads together from modern landmarks to ancient stories.
The stories themselves are fittingly strange and compelling as all mythology often is. I confess at times I found myself lost in names of ancient kings and strange interrelationships between early peoples (wait what was the difference between Picts and Scots, Saxons and Britons again?) this is a common feature of myth, although I often find myself questioning what is more important - a memorable relevant and compelling narrative - or "Accuracy."
Another intriguing point made in StoryLand is the way that mythology is used throughout history and currently to bolster and justify political action. Its a very strange quirk of stories, that can be quite confusing if you're not ready for it. For example Jeffs points out that the stories of the pre-Scots and Irish while being similar to the pre-British also had emphasis and tweaks to give legitimacy to their own peoples (e.g. the Brits myth was that the pre-Irish were hostile invaders, whereas the future-Irish had myths about their ancestors negotiating for free lands)
Finally I love some of Jeffs prose and turns of phrase. It's quite strange to see an author dabble a little in the fiction themselves, or more specifically how the author chooses to dabble. For example in Stephen Fry's work on Greek mythology he often presents quite comical almost farcical dialogue into scenes of Greek myth, while taking a more scholarly tone elsewhere. Jeffs using some striking metaphors in her own prose and presents a mix of direct storytelling and scholarly discussion, while as mentioned sometimes one gets lost in names, I truly enjoyed Jeffs words - and I'm looking forward to finding the next tome on Medieval Stories.
You'd think that British/English/UK mythology would be much more prominent among states originally settled by the empire (there is probably a history thesis in there somewhere about how perhaps its a form of rejection of the British Empire, or possible even that sometimes one's own culture can be invisible while others' stands out and is 'interesting').
Anyway other than Arthurian legends I didn't really know much, and the idea of diving into StoryLand was very intriguing. I found this work similar to Saga-Land, a tome diving into Norse mythology, while the author also explored their own heritage in Iceland. To be more specific in StoryLand, Jeffs gives us brief insights into her own world as she explores these myths (but to her credit, doesn't dwell on herself, which I saw not to be snarky but rather that when one picks up a book on mythology you don't want to hear too much about the author. Jeffs provides just enough to ground the narrative and pull intriguing threads together from modern landmarks to ancient stories.
The stories themselves are fittingly strange and compelling as all mythology often is. I confess at times I found myself lost in names of ancient kings and strange interrelationships between early peoples (wait what was the difference between Picts and Scots, Saxons and Britons again?) this is a common feature of myth, although I often find myself questioning what is more important - a memorable relevant and compelling narrative - or "Accuracy."
Another intriguing point made in StoryLand is the way that mythology is used throughout history and currently to bolster and justify political action. Its a very strange quirk of stories, that can be quite confusing if you're not ready for it. For example Jeffs points out that the stories of the pre-Scots and Irish while being similar to the pre-British also had emphasis and tweaks to give legitimacy to their own peoples (e.g. the Brits myth was that the pre-Irish were hostile invaders, whereas the future-Irish had myths about their ancestors negotiating for free lands)
Finally I love some of Jeffs prose and turns of phrase. It's quite strange to see an author dabble a little in the fiction themselves, or more specifically how the author chooses to dabble. For example in Stephen Fry's work on Greek mythology he often presents quite comical almost farcical dialogue into scenes of Greek myth, while taking a more scholarly tone elsewhere. Jeffs using some striking metaphors in her own prose and presents a mix of direct storytelling and scholarly discussion, while as mentioned sometimes one gets lost in names, I truly enjoyed Jeffs words - and I'm looking forward to finding the next tome on Medieval Stories.
July 11, 2022
I have loved history, mythology and folklore since I was a child. I leapt at the chance to order this as soon as I became aware of its existence. It seemed like a surefire hit.
But reading this book, I found myself utterly, ineffably, furious.
It took some reflection to work out why. It wasn't the content, because I love old legends, and had loved all of these stories in their original forms when I had first read them. And there's the rub. I was furious that a book like this could, or had to, exist in the first place.
I had loved mythology, and so I had sought it out when i was much younger. I was familiar with the Trojan connections and the Giants, with the Scotti and with Vortigern, was aware of the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth and de Troyes and Malory. I found that I wasn't reading anything I didn't already know, but just old familiar legends repackaged. And that made me angry. I was angry that people have apparently become so ignorant of their own heritage that they need to be lead back to it like a child lost in a supermarket. I was angry that Jeffs gets to call herself an author now, just for retelling someone else's stories and slapping her own (utterly uninspired and juvenile) artwork on it. It was a shameful anger too, partly hipsterish ('I knew these stories LONG before THIS book'), and partly envy ('if I had just rewritten all these old stories myself, maybe I could call myself an author!).
It was a chore to finish, not only because of the above frustrations, but also Jeffs style, which read to me like a high school student trying too hard to impress...but maybe by then any goodwill was gone. I at least appreciated the second section of each chapter where she explains a little further about her sources or inspirations. And I still think I would need to recommend this to others, as I want them to read and know these same myths I've loved since I was a boy. I just wish I didn't have to.
But reading this book, I found myself utterly, ineffably, furious.
It took some reflection to work out why. It wasn't the content, because I love old legends, and had loved all of these stories in their original forms when I had first read them. And there's the rub. I was furious that a book like this could, or had to, exist in the first place.
I had loved mythology, and so I had sought it out when i was much younger. I was familiar with the Trojan connections and the Giants, with the Scotti and with Vortigern, was aware of the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth and de Troyes and Malory. I found that I wasn't reading anything I didn't already know, but just old familiar legends repackaged. And that made me angry. I was angry that people have apparently become so ignorant of their own heritage that they need to be lead back to it like a child lost in a supermarket. I was angry that Jeffs gets to call herself an author now, just for retelling someone else's stories and slapping her own (utterly uninspired and juvenile) artwork on it. It was a shameful anger too, partly hipsterish ('I knew these stories LONG before THIS book'), and partly envy ('if I had just rewritten all these old stories myself, maybe I could call myself an author!).
It was a chore to finish, not only because of the above frustrations, but also Jeffs style, which read to me like a high school student trying too hard to impress...but maybe by then any goodwill was gone. I at least appreciated the second section of each chapter where she explains a little further about her sources or inspirations. And I still think I would need to recommend this to others, as I want them to read and know these same myths I've loved since I was a boy. I just wish I didn't have to.
May 27, 2025
Jeffs captivatingly gave life to British folklore, embracing the hodgepodge origins and genres of the myths as a strength. This artistic brilliance (both in the block prints and storytelling) sometimes felt overshadowed by half chapter post scripts in which the reader is lectured why the folktale is compelling.
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May 10, 2023This reads like someone’s thesis project for their dual degree in art and mythology or something (i mean sign me up lol) — like it was probably more meaningful/fun for the author to compile than it is to read. It feels like she just wanted to travel to the mythological sites, do linocut prints, and generally vibe…which like. fair enough and i hope she had a good time, but as she brings neither a very strong storytelling gift nor much academic scholarship to the myths, the result is a sort of monochrome narrative that doesn’t know what its goal is or who its aimed at. I appreciate having all these foundational myths compiled, ordered, and linked together, but if you’re both making up random details for the sake of “color” AND just quoting the original medieval texts extensively without explicating them….what are you accomplishing except getting in my way!
May 18, 2023
3.5/5
I find it so cool to have a collection of the myths of Britain presented as a cohesive mythos. There’s some rlly cool stuff in here but also some bland stuff but what it has done is it has gotten me rlly motivated to see more of the countryside of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland which make up the epic backdrops to some of these sick tales!!! Also the art in this book is so unique and definitely elevates the material for sure!
The style of retelling is very simple and comes alongside some personal reflections or academic context to the texts which is interesting but a part of me longs for like 200% commitment to the retelling and having extra pazaz yknow???
I find it so cool to have a collection of the myths of Britain presented as a cohesive mythos. There’s some rlly cool stuff in here but also some bland stuff but what it has done is it has gotten me rlly motivated to see more of the countryside of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland which make up the epic backdrops to some of these sick tales!!! Also the art in this book is so unique and definitely elevates the material for sure!
The style of retelling is very simple and comes alongside some personal reflections or academic context to the texts which is interesting but a part of me longs for like 200% commitment to the retelling and having extra pazaz yknow???
March 29, 2023
I was so looking forward to this but it just didn't hit the mark for me. I can see why others like it but it just really wasn't for me. I didn't really like the writing style or the format and found it resulted in the story's not being told as well as they could be and then often explanations that really weren't necessary that could have been spent telling the mythology better. I have to say the art was pretty though and it was nice to see a few stories I'm familiar with as well as some newer ones for me.
June 26, 2022
Less interesting than expected. Did not know Odin was Woden and Woden's day is Wednesday
October 21, 2022
Jeffs delves into the myths and legends that surround the creation of the British Isles and her people. Some stories I was familiar with, some were totally new to me. The short chapters make this perfect to dip in and out of and the marvellous illustrations are a bonus.
December 29, 2023
3.5⭐️
Really good selection of the ancient mythology of Britain. An interesting entry-level introduction.
Really good selection of the ancient mythology of Britain. An interesting entry-level introduction.
March 18, 2022
An interesting ramble through the British Isles, early history and their interconnectedness of local lore and myth.
Recommended.
Recommended.
April 3, 2023
I actually started this sometime last year — put it down and forgot about it. Having finished it, I feel somewhat lukewarm about it: good, but I think the non-fiction pieces about the actual mythology narratives are stronger — you can tell the mythology narratives aren’t written by someone whose feet is in fiction, but academia. I did think, though, that those non-fiction parts giving context about the stories were very good. But like all mythology narratives, the stories do have a tendency to not follow tropes and narrative structure — some of them felt a bit random and obscure. I also didn’t appreciate some of them went a bit too deep into ‘psychological realism’ and feminist rewritings, which felt a bit too effortfully ‘modern’ to be convincing.
One final complaint: DO NOT listen to the audiobook. Particularly the woman that read the narrative mythologies — she had a real lack of prosody and intonation and kept mispronouncing names! So frustrating.
One final complaint: DO NOT listen to the audiobook. Particularly the woman that read the narrative mythologies — she had a real lack of prosody and intonation and kept mispronouncing names! So frustrating.
August 18, 2023
DNF 20%
14th Aug
Unfortunately, it was not the book I was hoping for.
Even though the author clearly knows her way around British folklore and history, this is a book that tries to accomplish both with unsatisfactory results.
The retelling of the stories is loosely adapted by Amy Jeffs, which is not what I was expecting nor looking for. Also, not a fan of her style.
The contextualization of the stories in a historical set was surprising but welcome, if it did more than just scrape the surface.
It's not a bad book per se, and I'm sure it will appeal to some fans of mythology and history, although I'm one of them, and unfortunately, it failed with me.
14th Aug
Unfortunately, it was not the book I was hoping for.
Even though the author clearly knows her way around British folklore and history, this is a book that tries to accomplish both with unsatisfactory results.
The retelling of the stories is loosely adapted by Amy Jeffs, which is not what I was expecting nor looking for. Also, not a fan of her style.
The contextualization of the stories in a historical set was surprising but welcome, if it did more than just scrape the surface.
It's not a bad book per se, and I'm sure it will appeal to some fans of mythology and history, although I'm one of them, and unfortunately, it failed with me.
July 22, 2023
I loved this so much. Just being able to dip in and out, revelling in Jeff's beautiful language, art, and the insightful little commentaries that follow each story. The myths of Britain are absolutely masterfully handled, and feel as fascinating and relevant as they must have done five hundred years ago.
July 20, 2022
I had high hopes for this book. What I didn’t realise is some of the stories are tweaked by the author. I didn’t enjoy the long explanations after each story and found the book a chore. I did like some of the stories themselves, hence the two stars
June 21, 2023
A lot of really cool retellings of myths and folklore. I mostly enjoyed but found it a bit muddly at times with how many names are involved. Absolutely loved the art, so so cool!
April 10, 2024
can’t wait to whip out these stories to somebody who didn’t ask hell yeah
June 19, 2022
Jeffs provides an interesting take on the legends of Britain, not simply collecting them but retelling them to form a cohesive mythic history of sorts. She is a good story teller, and her art is impressive, but the book has its issues.
Firstly, it is largely a collection of myths from other sources. She draws heavily from authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth to the point where I wondered why I was reading this book at all when the original(ish) source for the stories is readily available. However, she does offer good analysis in her stories and her writing style is far more approachable than her sources, making her work infinitely more approachable to casual readers.
Secondly, this book also hits one of my biggest pet peeves: despite claiming to be a “new mythology of Britain”, it is almost entirely focused on England. Though Wales is represented, the stories chosen from Wales are mostly those that were later incorporated into English myth and therefore little exclusively Welsh material is present. Scotland is even more poorly represented, as it only gets a small handful of stories - this is likely due to Jeffs odd choice to exclude Ireland, which thereby excludes Scotland given how much the latter’s medieval culture was informed by the former.
Nevertheless, this book is an entertaining and easy read and I would recommend it to anyone who is new to the topic and looking for a good entry book into the mythology of Britain - or rather England.
Firstly, it is largely a collection of myths from other sources. She draws heavily from authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth to the point where I wondered why I was reading this book at all when the original(ish) source for the stories is readily available. However, she does offer good analysis in her stories and her writing style is far more approachable than her sources, making her work infinitely more approachable to casual readers.
Secondly, this book also hits one of my biggest pet peeves: despite claiming to be a “new mythology of Britain”, it is almost entirely focused on England. Though Wales is represented, the stories chosen from Wales are mostly those that were later incorporated into English myth and therefore little exclusively Welsh material is present. Scotland is even more poorly represented, as it only gets a small handful of stories - this is likely due to Jeffs odd choice to exclude Ireland, which thereby excludes Scotland given how much the latter’s medieval culture was informed by the former.
Nevertheless, this book is an entertaining and easy read and I would recommend it to anyone who is new to the topic and looking for a good entry book into the mythology of Britain - or rather England.
May 20, 2024
Plenty of stuff here that I had a vague awareness of, but had not actually read any versions of, medieval chronicles not being famed for their accessibility or ease of reading. The prose itself isn’t particularly mind-blowing, but if anything its simplicity adds to the sense that these are stories being told rather than just read. Would be interested to see what the audiobook version is like, though I don’t know if it’d be worth losing the art for (probably not).
If Jeffs has a twist in their retellings, it’s their tendency towards presenting mythological stories from the perspectives of characters other than the usual male heroes (women, children, in one instance King Arthur’s dog), and embellishing the stories with more of a focus on the emotional experiences of these characters.
Aside from the occasional personal quibble regarding some of the classical/archaeology adjacent stuff, the commentary after each text seems accurate and informative, though like the texts themselves they are usually quite brief. Sometimes we get direct quotes/translations from the originals in these commentaries, which is nice. Probably not one for the real Nennius-heads out there, but for a lay audience (among which I’d count myself for this) it does the job well.
The art is also pretty neat – linocuts look rad, I wish I could do them.
If Jeffs has a twist in their retellings, it’s their tendency towards presenting mythological stories from the perspectives of characters other than the usual male heroes (women, children, in one instance King Arthur’s dog), and embellishing the stories with more of a focus on the emotional experiences of these characters.
Aside from the occasional personal quibble regarding some of the classical/archaeology adjacent stuff, the commentary after each text seems accurate and informative, though like the texts themselves they are usually quite brief. Sometimes we get direct quotes/translations from the originals in these commentaries, which is nice. Probably not one for the real Nennius-heads out there, but for a lay audience (among which I’d count myself for this) it does the job well.
The art is also pretty neat – linocuts look rad, I wish I could do them.
June 16, 2022
This book covers the mythology that people living in Britain between around 700AD - 1200AD knew and believed (these dates are a guesstimate from what I understood about the sources the myths came from, please no one ever quote me on that).
They are really fun and unexpected stories. I love how they riff off Grecian, Christian and pagan mythologies, blending them into something new. I had never head any of these beforehand and reading them gave me a better understanding of British history and identity. Although these mythologies are fictional, historical figures believed them so they influenced the ways that Britain developed and saw itself (Shakespeare is probably the easiest example of this with King Lear).
The writing was perfect for this kind of story-telling and the analysis of each myth really enhanced this collection. I would strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in mythology.
They are really fun and unexpected stories. I love how they riff off Grecian, Christian and pagan mythologies, blending them into something new. I had never head any of these beforehand and reading them gave me a better understanding of British history and identity. Although these mythologies are fictional, historical figures believed them so they influenced the ways that Britain developed and saw itself (Shakespeare is probably the easiest example of this with King Lear).
The writing was perfect for this kind of story-telling and the analysis of each myth really enhanced this collection. I would strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in mythology.
October 24, 2022
I discovered this book at the end of the incredible ‘Stonehenge’ exhibition at the British Museum. The contrasting dream-like woodcut cover illustration drew me in like a moth to a flame and when I discovered it was a book about myth, history and the British landscape I thought it would combine all my interests and spark some inspiration in my art practice.
However, I was a bit disappointed really, the myths were not retold quite with the ‘new’ twist I was expecting and it reminded me that I don’t enjoy myths and short stories that much, there is no character development and often the men are violent and the women submissive.
The prints were also hit and miss, but as I waded through it - the book is big and heavy but has massive writing so it relatively quick to read through I warmed to the concept and writer/artist. And it was a pleasure to see her passion and enthusiasm for there Middle Ages and history - I also liked seeing/reading something that wasn’t totally polished and was put out there in the world despite it not being perfect!
However, I was a bit disappointed really, the myths were not retold quite with the ‘new’ twist I was expecting and it reminded me that I don’t enjoy myths and short stories that much, there is no character development and often the men are violent and the women submissive.
The prints were also hit and miss, but as I waded through it - the book is big and heavy but has massive writing so it relatively quick to read through I warmed to the concept and writer/artist. And it was a pleasure to see her passion and enthusiasm for there Middle Ages and history - I also liked seeing/reading something that wasn’t totally polished and was put out there in the world despite it not being perfect!
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