August 19, 2021 The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic, edited by Owen Davies Reviewed by Harriet If there’s one thing that this impressively learned and wide-ranging volume amply demonstrates, it’s that an interest in magic and witchcraft…
July 8, 2021 Smoke Hole: Looking to the wild in the time of the Spyglass by Martin Shaw Review by Peter Reason Martin Shaw is a mythologist, storyteller, and wilderness rites-of-passage guide, a teacher of mythic imagination. Should you encounter him at…
December 8, 2016 Fairy tales: A Reading List Selected by Helen Parry Christmas is traditionally a time of magic. Even if you’re no longer quite certain that Father C pops down the…
October 13, 2016 Snow by Marcus Sedgwick Reviewed by Annabel Snow is the latest addition to small indie publisher Little Toller’s series of ‘monographs’. These smart little hardbacks are dedicated to…
October 31, 2015 The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, second edition, edited by Jack Zipes Reviewed by Helen Parry I’ve always loved the Oxford Companions, ever since I first encountered the Companion to English Literature about twenty-five years ago. They’re very…
October 29, 2015 Mythology – An illustrated journey into our imagined worlds by Christopher Dell Reviewed by Annabel. As picture books for grown ups go, Mythology is the business. Now available in soft covers, this nine inches square book yields glorious pictorial…
August 4, 2015 Mermaids by Sophia Kingshill Reviewed by Harriet once I sat upon a promontoryAnd heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s backUttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,That the rude sea…
April 29, 2015 Victorian Fairy Tales, edited by Michael Newton Reviewed by Helen Parry The sun was now set, and the darkness coming on, but the child thought of no danger but the bears…
April 23, 2015 Science in Wonderland: The Scientific Fairy Tales of Victorian Britain by Melanie Keene Reviewed by Helen Parry Thomas Gradgrind is the famously awful teacher from Hard Times. His philosophy: ‘Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys…
October 21, 2014 Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner Reviewed by Helen Parry Is it fair to claim that Marina Warner is the reigning British queen of fairy tales? I believe so. Her…
