Book Review: "Storyland" by Amy Jeffs

Yes, we are back here again. We are being thrust straight back into folk culture and honestly, this resurgence is the best thing ever. Books that are coming out now with an incredible amount of folkish background to them include the realms of horror and thriller, Sci-Fi and fantasy and even romance is giving it a go. Folk horror films are coming out and I am very excited about that. And finally, we have the books which we thank for compiling some of the great stories that go along with these cultures.

Folk stories are these old and wonderful stories that nobody knows whether they are true or not, and nobody knows how much truth is in them - but they are entertaining all the same. King Arthur is one of the most famous of them all, this folk story that has been passed around for hundreds of years containing wizards and magic, knights and princesses, and obviously - the grail. British folk stories are among some of the most popular folk stories ever and in this book, Amy Jeffs has managed to compile some of the most brilliant stories about place that we have. Obviously, in Britain, places are named in a strange way and a lot of these have folkish backgrounds. Amy Jeffs has managed to do the hard work and not only give us the stories of these places but also a bit of entertaining commentary, critique and insight into each one. I thought it was a brilliant reading experience.

The book is split into appropriate sections for reading: 'in the beginning' is an ample way of introducing things like giants and princesses - all the characters from old we are so familiar with in these strange tales. Part 2, 'prehistory' takes us through dragon territory and more on to Scotland. In 'antiquity' we get more attention paid to locations such as Stonehenge and part 4 contains everyone's favourite sea monster - the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.

When I started reading this book, I was instantly hooked by the story 'The Giants' Dance' - it goes through the naming of various places and the way in which the giants practiced ritual and carols, dances and folk songs. After the story is told, Amy Jeffs goes through her own journey of taking a cruise ship, reading Geoffrey of Monmouth and answers the all important question of 'Why Giants?' which is what we are all asking at that precise moment. She goes through her critical reading of Geoffrey of Monmouth in order to answer this (and anyone who has read Geoffrey of Monmouth would be very impressed at all this research on just one story. Just imagine what she does with the whole book).

The rich history of Britain is represented not only by its textbook history, but also by its folk ways: the songs, the dances, the writings, the stories, the names and the creatures that once, in tales, lurked the earth. One thing I loved about this book is it takes these stories and explains the 'why' - the motivation behind the characters and especially the use of characters that we know not to exist (i.e dragons, giants etc.). Her research is immense and the product is a lovely critical analysis of some of the greatest stories ever told in early Britain.

To conclude, I loved this book a lot. Sitting up and reading it at night was one of the best decisions I've made for reading in a long time and I don't think I've had it through with this text yet - I may read it again.