| Title | : | Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 2018 |
Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland Reviews
-
“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!? -
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! -
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. -
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). -
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! -
So fun reading Folk Tales from my heritage 🖤
-
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.
-
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.
-
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. -
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!
-
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. -
3.5 stars
This was such a fun collection! I listened to the audiobook mostly in one sitting while doing some gardening, it was definitely the right book for that. I especially loved all the bits explaining the history of the plants and environments present in whichever story was about to be told. There was a good mix of stories in here, some more interesting than others but that is to be expected in any short story collection. My favourite stories were of course the ones about fairies! -
You'll Want to Revisit These Tales Again and Again
This book was filled with stories that I had never heard, and familiar stories told in ways I had never considered. Although such tales as Jack and the Beanstalk or Cinderella are retold from the isles, these stories are also chilling, And maybe not best for right before bed! I do think this would be a great book to read with children, these are the kind of folktales I wish I had grown up with. I also really like the Wheel of the Year 8 -hapter structure, It gave the tales an exciting framework. -
3.5/5
Stories were interesting and enjoyable but I wish the writing was a little more elaborate. Also didn’t care for the couple of modern rewritings. Overall an enjoyable read. -
I like a lot of things. Besides books and everything related to them, I like biology, plants, ethnology, anthropology, mythology and the combinations of all above. And obviously I am crazy for orchids.
Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland is beautiful, mystical, ecological and inspiring voyage through tales about plant lore and folklore, transferred through generations and generations, helping us to understand world around us and find our place inside it. There are stories about fairies, magic trees and flowers, dwarfs, witches, good Vs evil and all those magic stories we probably heard from our elder ones in quiet winter nights.
This book was such a revelation and I have to say I enjoyed in every page of it. -
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.
I read one per day for my short story reading task.
2 stars -
This is a charmer of a book that pleased me immensely. As the author says at the start, there is plenty of folklore about trees and plants, but it's usually only a line or two at best. Finding real stories that are attached to the trees and plants? Now that's a challenge. Lisa Schneidau has met the challenge. Here she presents thirty-nine folktales, all with traditional roots. Some are told as she found them. Others are re-fashioned. All are readable and tellable. The stories follow the year -- from deepest winter, through spring, summer, and autumn and back around to winter. They bring in not only the botanical elements, but also the fairies, piskies, bogles, kelpies, and other supernatural creatures. Sometimes they help the humans; sometimes they punish them. A brief introduction to each tale puts it in context. Recommended for anyone who loves storytelling and the world of nature. I'll look for more from this author.
-
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. -
Fairy tales auld and new
To charm the birds from the trees and humans from their home. Do not thank the fair folk but do enjoy their company in these lovely tales -
I grew up reading fairy tales and folk tales so when I saw this as an audiobook I knew it would be a good one for me.
The collection of Folk Tales has been collated by Lisa Schneidau and the narrator, Joan Walker is fabulous. Joan has a very listenable voice, she adds good local accents to the various stories depending on which part of the country the tale is from.
As someone who loves her garden and also loves reading, I immediately knew that this would be great to listen to while outside in my own garden.
There are some tales that I knew, and some that I thought I knew from other stories I had read as a child, but actually turned out to be slightly different. As an adult listening to these tales I soo0n realised how dark some of them can be, death of characters is something that occurs quite often in tales, but I never really saw this as a child.
Some of the tales have a modern introduction to them, mentioning things such as phones. This means it will appeal to the younger reader today but lead them nicely into the tale and its past origins.
Each of the stories has a plant at its centre, beanstalk, mossy coat, rosemary, holly and so many others that are well known and some a little more obscure. Each tale has a relevance to a person, people or village, they are a mix of good and bad and lots of warnings. Tales of woodlands, forests, bogs and marshes, mountains and dales. The tales are laid out by season.
This is an audio that I will listen to again as I really enjoyed it. It has a calming feel to it with the gentle voice of the narrator. This is one for those who like to relive childhood tales and to a certain extent you can see how some old wives' tales, legends and warnings have their origins, it is one I would definitely recommend it. -
This was a great collection of folk talkes that were all connected by one theme - the plants and nature.
I really liked the structure of the book - the stories were put in a special order, divided between the four seasons and each month within them. Because the main theme is "botanical", the book includes tales from many parts of the Great Britain and Ireland. Thanks to that the collection has a lot of variety, a lot of different magical creatures and stories, which I enjoyed.
My only wish was that each story had an illustration of the plant that it mentioned. Obviously, it's mostly because I'm not a native English speaker, so it would've made it much easier for me to recognise the plants which names I didn't know, but I think it would've been a nice addition for everyone. There were some illustrations but not for each story.
I'm excited to try the second collection by Lisa Schneidau now and I recommend this one to everyone who enjoys folk tales. -
I Received a copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
This was such a fun little read! I love folk tales and this one being themed around plants and trees made it that much more enjoyable.
This was a nice mix of fairy tales, fable type stories and the "This happened to this one guy this one time" type of oral history mixes.
The illustrations were lovely and added a nice whimsy to the read. -
This little collection has some really nice cottagecore vibes going on but a lot of the stories are pretty short and snappy and I couldn't really get immersed in them. Great for people, who have a short attention span though or want something they can read in bits and pieces in the evening before going to bed.
-
A magical collection of short stories that all have to do with plants in one way or another. The author re-wrote the old folk tales and for the most part I think she did a good job. There were a few that ended abruptly, but I'm sure that those particular tales were sparse to begin with.
-
Great anthology of folk lore and has an extensive source list for further research! 🤓
-
A nice collection of stories, organized by the seasons and coming from places from Britain and Ireland. They were a delight to read and the themes of community and sustainability were really clear throughout!
-
Old world escapism. Magical!
