River Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland

Folk Tales

by Lisa Schneidau

Traditional folk tales, including history, folklore and nature observations about the rivers, streams and lakes of Britain and Ireland

Rivers and streams sculpt the landscape. They give us water and food, trade and transport, yet they have a life-force all of their own. Rivers have connected communities throughout history, from mountain to estuary and to the wide sea beyond.

This is a collection of traditional folk tales from the wild rivers, lakes, and streams of Britain and Ireland. Lisa Schneidau retells old stories of danger and transformation, river goddesses, ghosts and mysterious creatures that dwell in islands' watery arteries. Follow the flow of rivers from source to sea and be enchanted by these stories.

Here is history and nature told through folk tale.

Genres: Folklore, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Nature, Mythology, Fairy Tales, Ireland

191 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2022

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

[Jo Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved each of Lisa Schneidau's collections of folk tales. This one is another gem - packed with wonderful stories, brought to life by the author's interpretation of well known and more obscure tales.
Great to dip into, great to read aloud, a lovely way to connect to the watery world around us.

[Isa (Pages Full of Stars) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of legends and tales from Britain and Ireland connected to the rivers. I enjoyed most of them a lot and I like the author's writing style. I also appreciated short notes before each story, telling us the origins. The collection even had one story from the Arthurian legends, which was a nice surprise for me :)

It's the second collection of folk tales from Lisa Schneidau that I read and I can't wait to read the remaining two. I would recommend them to anyone who likes folk tals, legends or myths.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Schneidau is an ecologist, conservationist and storyteller, knowledge and passion that she combines in these faithful retellings of British and Irish folktales.

Each story has a short introduction in which Lisa gives some ecological, historical and/or folkloric details, and she chooses a reasonable geographic spread of stories from across the Isles. I liked her inclusion of a couple of Romany stories, Appy and the Eel being one of the humorous highlights of the book.

She plays a bit loose with the definition of "river", including a she does some tales of lakes and marshes, but that's the pendant in me being picky! 4.5💧

[Dafne Flego · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy exploring folkloristic and ethnological themes, but I tend not to read folk tales compilations. I am sorry to say that I expect them to read as dry and repetitive.
For that reason, I was thrilled to discover that Lisa Schneidau, being a professional storyteller, has a knack for rendering these stories interesting and distinct from each other.
I also loved how each story had a short introduction, which contextualized them.

I am looking forward to reading more from her. :)

[Sarah Huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of these kinds of books, folktales I mean. Sometimes they get a little repetitive and I end up reading the same tales, written differently over and over. That isn't the case with these books and this author and that's why I love them. There are such wonderful, enchanting stories and so charming. The reader gets transported to realms that have been forgotten but feel familiar. I truly hope these books continue on. The best books on folklore to be found IMO.

[Anna Bosman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one did not come together thematically as much as the other two — somehow the water has less character than the botanicals and the woodlands. Perhaps this is nothing but subjective personal preference? Nonetheless I’ve appreciated each and every story, and the vivid imagery of kelpies devouring human guts will stay with me forever. Charming, charming stuff.

[Sarah Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic collection by Lisa Schneidau with beautiful illustrations throughout. It reminds us of the magic and mythology of our watery isles.

A great book for all the family to delve into.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book, very good balance of conservation focused/environmental informative writing with retellings of old folk tales.

Definitely carries the informal air of tales told through oral tradition, you can imagine reading these stories out loud, gathered around a camp fire.

[Sian Witch reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

its a while since i read it but i remember liking it