Storyland

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 Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain, by Amy Jeffs

This caught my eye when my mom and I spent a couple of hours in Foyles; I was kind of intrigued.  What do you mean, a new mythology?  So I got hold of a copy and found out.  It's a couple of years old now so this will all be old news to any British readers; Chris at Calmgrove probably beat me to this ages ago.

Jeffs has taken all those old stories about the founding of Britain and British history -- from Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Wace, and Layamon, and such -- and told them as short stories or episodes.  She's had a wonderful time carving lino prints to illustrate the stories, too.  

So we start with giants installing Stonehenge on an Irish mountain, and Brutus bringing his Trojans, and the Scotti, and so on.  Then there's Weland the Smith, King Leir and Cordelia, the origin of the Stone of Scone, Deirdre in Ireland, and the two dragons.  We move into the Arthurian cycle, especially stories about Merlin, and early Saxon saints, and end with the Norman Conquest.

Each chapter tells the story and then has a sort of afterword in which Jeffs does a little explanation or description.  At first this bothered me and took me out of the flow of the stories, but I see why she did it that way, and the afterwords are interesting.

This is a nice introduction to the mythologies and stories of Britain; you could compare it to Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology.  It's a retelling for the current generation.   I've read a lot of the source materials, but definitely not all of them, and most people aren't going to read Geoffrey and fifteen other early medieval authors, or even H. E. Marshall and Howard Pyle.  Most people are going to want to read something more like this.  Plus the illustrations are pretty great.  

Looking at the listing on Amazon, it turns out that there's a children's edition (looks like it's written similarly but probably has the more disturbing elements taken out) and a newer book that is all tales from early medieval times, which is right up my alley...

Comments

  1. Chris LovegroveOctober 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM

    Heh, I've seen mentions of this but not read it; like you I've read some of the source material in translation but this predigested compilation sounds ideal for those unfamiliar with how rich and varied this antique lore is.

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    Replies
    1. JeanOctober 24, 2024 at 8:55 AM

      I think so, and she does give all the sources so readers can go find them for themselves, which I like. I think it's good to have a book like this that makes sure these stories aren't just lost because most people aren't going to know where to find them. As a kid I read D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and found the varied sources as an adult; this will let people do the same for the lesser-known British stories.

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