Woodland Folk Tales by Lisa Schneidau

Woodland Folk Tales Reviews

• 
  Juliet Wilson

  With an introduction that outlines the history and ecology of woodland in the British Isles, this book is a collection of thirty-two woodland folk tales retold by ecologist and storyteller Lisa Schneidau.
  
  The stories are arranged thematically, starting with Wildwoods and working through themes such as Hunter and Hunted to end with The Path Ahead. Each theme is given a short intrduction to put the stories into context. Additionally each individual story is given a brief historical note. These notes give an interesting background to the stories and add to the reader's understanding of a storytelling tradition rooted in our woodlands.
  
  Schneidau has told these stories to many audiences and they are designed to be read aloud. Each flows with a beautiful rhythm. Some stories focus on human protagonists, some mythical, some based on historical persons, other stories focus on the lives of animals and birds of the woodlands, and in many of them fairies and pixies play an important role. The characters in some stories are able to shapeshift - becoming different animals at will, which is both a magical ability but also seems to underline a deep connection with nature. Many of the stories emphasise the relationships between people, animals and the woods and the importance for humans to look after the woods and the creatures who live there.
  
  Some of the stories have particular resonance for our current times, probably most clearly "The Woodland Under the Sea" in which the elite party instead of protecting their community against the rising seas in Cantre’r Gwaelod, today the site of a vast petrified forest which is now under the sea. 'The fertile plains, farms and woods they had once known were submerged, save for the occasional rooftop of a tall building, and all the people had perished.'
  
  My favourite story in the book, "The Green Women of One Tree Hill" also contains an essential lesson about living within our ecological means. Three brothers inherit the land surrounding the three green women (the only trees now left in an area that was once abundantly wooded). This is a very moving story of the need for a good relationship with nature, and includes a beautifully written overview of the ecological history of the area where the tale is set.
  
  Similarly, "The Tree's Revenge" is a cautionary tale about what happens to those who steal land and trees that don't belong to them.
  
  "Auld Cruvie" is another classic tale of the need to live in harmony with nature and includes some particularly lovely descriptions - 'Jack also learned the calls and the language of the birds. He learned their alarm calls that all the creatures in the woods knew, foretelling danger. He learned their quiet contact calls of the woodland at peace. He knew the tiny chatter of the subsong when winter turned to spring, as teenage robins experimented with their new-found notes. And best of all, he learned the bird songs that set the woods alight with joy.'
  
  In "Herne the Hunter" the reader is introduced to Herne, a figure who we might wish we could resurrect today:
  
  In times when England is in great need, or great danger, a shimmering figure can be seen riding through the great oak, beech and hornbeam trees of Windsor Forest at night. He wears great horns on his head and a chain at his neck. Two other hunters ride beside him, and ghostly hounds charge forward all around. He is the god of the Wild Hunt, Herne, the Horned One, and his business is to protect our land from harm.
  
  Most of the stories have some sort of take away moral, whether it is how to live in a better relationship with nature or with your siblings or not to be greedy. The message however is always told within a story that is engrossing and enchanting and sometimes very entertaining.
  
  I couldn't help smiling at "The Giant with Seven Heads" which tells the story of Jack, the reluctant hero who kills the giant with seven heads when all he wanted was to find rabbits. Similarly "Pixy Led" is very entertaining, particularly the wife's reaction to her husband's claim to have been stolen away by the pixies when in fact he'd been drinking in the pub.
  
  This is a great collection of stories to tell in a group (or in a video call) or to read quietly by yourself.
  
  Disclaimer: I was sent a free e-book of this title in exchange for a full and honest review
• 
  Meg

  Really good magical mystical set of stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I picked it up on a whim and am happy I did. The stories were really well researched and written.
• 
  Lynn K.

  I enjoyed the previous book,
  Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland , more. This book was fun though. I don’t read a lot of short stories and I think I was getting tired of them by the end.
• 
  Adelaide

  Really enjoyed reading this book. Took me a while to get into the style, as it is a collection of short stories. They were enjoyable to read and a few had some great wisdom behind them. I love the idea of reading the short stories to my future kids, as they are traditional fairy tales
• 
  Benjamin

  A very enjoyable read. It is written simply, which is fitting as folk tales such as these are, to my mind, more about the story itself than elaborate prose.
  
  Although my first reading was from cover to cover, I suspect that when I pick it up in future it will be to refresh my memory of a particular story, which I would suggest is the point of an anthology like this. In fact, I would go as far to say that this should be treated as a textbook, where one can learn the basics of our native folklore before retelling the stories yourself to others; adding bits of your own when you forget parts.
  
  Thoroughly recommended.
• 
  Byrd Nash

  An enchanting collection of ancient tales from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Love getting the older versions which are given with some historical background by the author in a preface to each story.
  While the information by the author is interesting, it is the forest themselves that forever hold mystery and magic.
  
  Discover tales of arrogant kings, lovers at the crossroads, magical beasts, and talking trees. Niall and the Hag at the Wall ends with more then a nod to the Morrigan (though she isn't mentioned by name). The ritual done by the three knights to atone for killing The Boar of Eskdale seems far more pagan in nature then the Christian framing of the tale. Some you may recognize, like Herne the Hunter (whose folktale I put into the Wicked Wolves of Windsor).
  
  For lovers of Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest series, you will love this anthology.
• 
  Anna Bosman

  Sometimes, talking to a tree is more important than talking to a human. Oak, ash and thorn, I need another book like this. I read it straight after the botanical folk tales collected by the same author, and I must say that this collection is a lot less quaint and a lot more epic, brooding, dark, magical. If I can’t get my hands on another Lisa Schneidau soon (I have my eye on the river tales!), I might just finally sit myself down to read the Arthurian tales in their unabridged form, start to finish.
• 
  Ryan Morrison

  Lovely and well written, this book not only has wonderful folk tales to tell ,but is also informative about our impact on the woodlands today.
• 
  Kate

  Thoroughly enjoyable!
• 
  Steve

  Some make you smile...
  
  I can remember Boy Scout campfires when there were enough adults around to tell all kinds of stories. This book took me back to those times.
• 
  Jessica

  This is a fantastic collection of folk tales set in Britain and Ireland. I like how the author noted where each tale was collected and interspersed facts about woodlands on the British Isles. Some of the stories were familiar because I've read a lot of folklore and tropes are pretty common in oral storytelling. I had never heard of the story "The Green Women of One Tree Hill" and it was my favorite of the stories.
  
  The book opens with background of the author and a discussion of how the fairy tales and folklore we are most familiar with are often around woodlands that are disappearing rapidly in favor or farmlands or suburbs.
  
  The book is separated into 8 sections with around 5 stories in each category. Wildwood (ancient forest stories), Royal Prerogative (includes a tale of Robin Hood), Hunter and Hunted, The Clearing in the Woods (main character finds a magical clearing), The Other Ones (fairy related, Tamlane was my favorite and is what A Midsummer's Night Dream is based from), Escape to the Wild, Tree Folk, and The Path Ahead (by far my favorite section).
  
  Quick and engaging read for lovers of woodlands, fairy tales, and folk lore.
• 
  Amy

  As with botanical folktales, I loved this book and will read it many times over the years!
• 
  Marilyn

  Wouldn’t you love to go for a walk in the ancient woodlands of Britain and Ireland – sitting among the colorful leaves, resting against an ancient oak, feeling the breeze on your face, delighting in the songs of birds? You may not be able to transport yourself to those woods, but Lisa Schneidau’s audiobook of Woodland Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland offers the next best thing.
  Press “play,” close your eyes, and the magic starts with bird song, Then the author’s soft voice leads you into her world and wraps you in a story.
  Like the woodlands themselves, there’s great variety here. Short tales – just enough for a taste. Longer tales for deep thought. Choose among them to suit your mood or your time. Some characters are familiar – Merlin, Arthur, Robin Hood. But do you know Sweenie? Auld Cruvie? And of course, the animals and even trees of the forest are as much characters as the people.
  The plusses of this collection are many. Schneidau offers historical background, gives meanings of words and phrases (which may have changed over the centuries), explains and embraces the emerging view of woodlands, with their often-controversial topics of species preservation, the place of hunting and recreation, conservation, and more. She acknowledges her sources, from historic texts to fellow storytellers and folklorists. And she shares her personal experiences with and love for the woodlands and the stories.
  The woodlands may be disappearing, but the tales remain – as timeless as ever. This is an enchanting collection. Highly recommended.
  I received a free copy of the audiobook in return for an honest review.
  
  This review refers to an audiobook, read by the author, available on Spotify.
  
• 
  Cristiana

  This book was hard to read and harder still to listen to. I returned the audiobook after listening to the first three stories. Maybe I came to this work with the wrong expectations, expecting a collection similar to those edited by Maria Tatar and I was irritated by Schneidau's extremely dull and unimaginative retellings of British and Irish folktales and legends that have been told and retold so many times before by creative writers for adults and children or collected and edited by scholars. DNF.
• 
  Deserthomemaker

  3.5 stars
  
  As with any collection, I liked some stories more than others. Some were very short and some were excerpts from longer stories, some were familiar friends and others were new, some I would love to see developed into full length novels and some probably would have worked better in their original oral form.
  
  Overall I enjoyed it, and would recommend it for anyone who likes folk tales.
• 
  Dan Slone

  I love folk tales from around the world, and this one is a delight. The author does a great job of weaving the stories into the history of the places as well as modern themes of loss of biodiversity, climate change, and sustainability without losing the point of these stories - to teach and entertain. I'll be seeking out her other folk tale books.
• 
  Richard Howard

  This is a short but delightful little book that tries to recapture the ancient takes of the British Isles' lost woodlands. As with most such anthologies the tales are often just fragments of, presumably, longer, now forgotten stories. Sadly, Britain's woodlands, as well as its folklore are largely gone and it just a few who keep them alive.
• 
  Rachael Sibley

  Fascinating as well as a great read
  
  I loved this book. Not only were the stories a great read but the introductions were really interesting. I learnt a lot from this book as well as thoroughly enjoying the short traditional stories. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys traditional stories and nature.
• 
  Claudia

  This book of stories ties the preservation of folklore to the preservation of woodlands across Britain and Ireland. I liked how the stories were framed as tales of nature, its power, and the importance of respecting the forest and all living things.
• 
  Wandering Star

  Ultimately loved the mix of beautiful timeless stories passed down from ancestors with lessons about morality and ecology. There is so much to love and appreciate about traditions and nature, which after all, go on longer than we do.
• 
  Carol

  I love to queue up this audio book when I'm out in the garden or working around the house. The stories are interesting, and author does a fantastic job of narrating them.
  
  (I received a free audiobook, but I also own the book, so I knew I was in for a treat.)
• 
  Sue

  I received a free copy of the audiobook in return for an honest review. One to savour slowly to best appreciate and remember the tales. Well researched traditional stories told with knowledge and enthusiasm.